Obituary of Felix Gedraitis

Felix Walter Gedraitis Korean War Veteran and Retired NYC Firefighter. Born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 1931, moved to Willowbrook, S.I. in 1969. Graduated from Manhattan H.S. of Aviation Trades in 1949. Enlisted in the Marine Corps. in 1951. Served as a Platoon Sgt. in Korea from 1952 to 1953. Upon his discharge from the service, he went to work for the Federal Reserve Bank in 1954 as an armed guard. He was a member of the Banks Pistol Team winning many medals and trophies in local police pistol matches rated as a distinguished expert marksman. He joined the NYC Fire Dept. in 1959 and served 31 years, 18 years in E229 Brooklyn and 13 years in E166 Graniteville, S. I. While in the fire department he was a member of the UFA – Holy Name Society also the FDNY Retired Men's Association and the S.I. FDNY Retirees. As a 17 year old Gedraitis was one the first contestant in Joe Weider's East Coast body building contests. In 1948 he won most muscular Jr. man in NYC. He placed third in the Mr. America and Mr. North America JR contests. As a teenager he was a member of the Royal Blues Bugle & Drum Corps. here on S.I., traveling to practice by train and ferry. A motorcycle enthusiast, he was President of the Roaring Dutchman M C of Brooklyn in the 1950's, touring up and down the coast from Canada to Florida. He was also an auto enthusiast. His favorite was his 1958 Corvette that he raced at Englishtown, NJ Raceway. He enjoyed summer vacations at the New Jersey Shore, Montauk Pt and winters in Aruba. His wife of 26 years the former Lillian Thompson Widecki passed away in 1998. He was a parishioner of Holy Family RC Church in Westerleigh. He loved and enjoyed the company of his step family, Rosemary & Richard Kauke, Robert & Marilyn Widecki, John Widecki Sr., 8 step grandchildren & 17 step great grandchildren. Funeral from the Matthew Funeral Home, Inc., 2508 Victory Boulevard, on Tuesday, departing at 10:00 am. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Holy Family R.C. Church at 10:30 am. Entombment will follow in St. Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale, NY. Visitation is scheduled on Monday from 3:00 to 7:00 pm. Due to Covid, all visitors must wear masks, practice social distancing and be mindful that a short wait to visit might exist due to current capacity limitations.