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Charles J. Krysiak, 67, Baltimore delegate
By Jacques Kelly
Sun Staff
October 23, 2004
Charles J. Krysiak, retired chairman of the Maryland Workers'
Compensation Commission who represented a Southeast Baltimore district
in the legislature for the better part of two decades, died of liver
disease Tuesday at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was 67.
Born in Fells Point, he was a graduate of Holy Rosary Parochial School
and worked in area drugstores to put himself through Loyola High
School, where he was a 1955 graduate. He earned a bachelor's degree
from Loyola College and a law degree from the University of Maryland
School of Law.
He went into law practice with George Hofferbert, who was long a figure
in east-side politics. Mr. Krysiak got involved in politics after his
1962 marriage to Carolyn Fabiszak.
Through his wife's mother's family, Mr. Krysiak met the Machs and the
Jarosinskis, politically connected East Baltimore families. In 1962, he
won his first election - as a delegate to the state Democratic
convention.
He won a seat in the House of Delegates in 1966 from the old 1st
District, which then ran from Fells Point to the eastern city line. He
was allied with the former Hofferbert-D'Alesandro 1st District
Democratic Club, the 2nd Ward Polish American Democratic Club and the
Quo Vadis Democratic Club. He later represented the 46th Legislative
District.
"He was one of the last of that long Polish line who served in
Annapolis, going back to Chester Kosakowski," said former Mayor Thomas
J. D'Alesandro III. "He had a streak of independence that separated him
from the rest of the crowd. And he was smart."
Friends recalled Mr. Krysiak as articulate and dapper, and said he
liked to enjoy an occasional cigar.
"He was a good protector of the people in Southeast Baltimore," said
Cornell Dypski, a former delegate and state senator. "He looked out for
them."
Mr. Krysiak won the praise of constituents by blocking a landfill near
what is now Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. In one of his most
visible fights, he helped stop a plan to convert an old Continental Can
building on East Biddle Street into a prison.
He became chairman of the House Constitution and Administrative Law
Committee.
"We used to kid him about the beat-up car [a 1957 Chevrolet] he drove
to Annapolis," said former state Sen. American Joe Miedusiewski. "He
told us his constituents would come into his office and discuss a
problem that was actually legal in nature. He'd resolve their issue,
send them a bill - and they'd refuse to pay it. They thought it was
part of the services due them."
Mr. Krysiak was re-elected four times, although he did not serve his
last term. In early 1979, he resigned to take an appointment by acting
Gov. Blair Lee III to the chairmanship of what was then the Workmen's
Compensation Commission, where he remained for 20 years before retiring
in 1999.
He initiated the Workers' Compensation Education Association, a
volunteer group composed of unions, employers, lawyers and
rehabilitation professionals who meet to propose legislation and
regulation changes.
In his free time, Mr. Krysiak read about the Civil War and visited New
Orleans to hear Dixieland jazz. He requested that "When the Saints Go
Marching In" be played after his funeral.
A Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 11 a.m. today at Our Lady
of Fatima Roman Catholic Church, 6400 E. Pratt St.
Survivors include his wife, who has represented District 46 in the
House of Delegates since 1991; three sons, Charles G. Krysiak and Paul
D. Krysiak, both of Baltimore, and Mark E. Krysiak of Middle River; two
daughters, Carolyn Krysiak Shiflett of Middle River and Anne Krysiak
Barnaba of Baltimore; a brother, Robert Krysiak of Fallston; and five
grandchildren.
Copyright © 2004, The Baltimore Sun