Dedication: Walt and Jay Rafalowski

The Rafalowski/Juliano page is dedicated to Walter and Josephine (Jay) Juliano Rafalowski. This is a narrative and pictorial tribute to their lives.

Walter Ladislaus Rafalowski married Josephine “Jay” Juliano on May 27, 1937 at St. James Church in Trenton, NJ. They had a lot in common: they were first generation Americans from working class families and had parents who spoke little English. Walt was 24 and Jay had just turned 20.

Walt was born on January 19, 1913 in Trenton. He was the oldest of two children and remained close with his sister Harriett all his life. His parents, Anna and Aleksander, emigrated from Poland somewhere around 1910 . They spoke almost no English and Walt spoke Polish until he started attending school. His parents did factory work when they could. Aleksander was a nice man who was respected in their neighborhood when sober but was unfortunately a binge drinker and became belligerent and physical when under the influence. He was physically abusive to his wife and son to the point that Walt often attempted to protect his mother and occasionally hid from his father underneath the stairs to there second floor apartment on Ferry Street in Trenton. As many kids did in his neighborhood, Walt quit school after the 8th grade and applied for his working papers at the age of 14 in 1927. His papers, which appear in the milestones section, indicate he was 4’9″ tall and weighed 83 pounds. He took whatever work he could find from caddying to construction to factory work. At age 22 he was hired by Kramer Company, a manufacturer of air conditioning parts, in Trenton. In time he became the shop foreman and worked there for 42 years until his retirement in 1977. Despite his fathers abuse, Walt hired his dad in the late 1930s at Kramers and he worked there until his death in 1942, apparently remaining sober for most of his last few years.

Jay was the second of seven children born to Joseph and Carmela Secretario Juliano. Carmela and Joesph were born in Sicily and came to America in the early 1900s settling in Bellaire, Oh. near Akron. Like Walt’s parents the Juliano’s spoke little English and Jay and her siblings grew up speaking Italian at home. The children, Rose, Jay, Mary, Patsy, Jennie, Lucian, and Millie, were a close knit, animated group. They were athletic, enjoyed being together, and always looked out for each other. Tragedy struck in 1928 when Jay was 11 years old: Joseph died suddenly leaving his wife and seven children on their own. Carmela moved her young family to Trenton to be closer to her relatives. They settled in Chambersburg, or The Burg, the Italian neighborhood in South Trenton. Jay quit school in the 10th grade to begin work and help support her family. Her first job was cleaning dorm rooms at Rider College. She worked steadily until her retirement in 1981. For her last 18 years of employment she worked as a drill press operator at the Kramer Company, where Walt was the shop foreman.
As stated earlier, Walt and Jay had much in common including humble beginnings as well as the challenges of abuse and the loss of a parent at a very early age. Despite these challenges, they had a loving, active 54 year marriage, maintained close relationships with their siblings, and were accomplished in sports. They were supportive and loving grandparents who always enjoyed being with Ryan and Colin: Walt to teach them skills in the sports they played and Jay to school them on the ins and outs of five card draw. Bingo, poker, bowling, shopping and dining out with her lady friends kept Jay busy. Walt loved golf and had a knack for making conversation and friends anywhere he went. But there greatest joy and accomplishment was daughter Jan. Not only did she graduate from college she went on to attain a Masters and PhD in psychology. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and, in very dramaitc fashion, defended her doctoral dissertation while 7 months pregnant. For Jan, a 34 year career as a Professor at CCM would follow all the challenging academic work. Having their educations cut short because of their circumstances made education for Jan so important to them. Their pride in her accomplishments were obvious.

In September of 1991 Jay passed away after brief battle with throat cancer; a shocking loss to our family. True to Jay’s nature, she knew she was very sick yet faced her last days with courage and faith. During the next 8 years we spent a great deal of time with Walt and had a chance to know him on a whole new level. His pride in his daughter and grandchildren was more obvious everyday.

Enjoy these photos and documents of Walt and Jay

Jay’s Birth Certificate documenting her birth on June 5, 1917 in Bellaire, Ohio.

Jay in 1932

Walt in 1933

Walt’s working paper from 1927 at age 14. These were papers were required to get work when you were under 18. Notice his height at 4’9″ and weight 83 pounds.