John Steven Wachowski, 62, passed away peacefully in his home on February 28th, 2023.

Currently working at Illinois Institute of Technology, John had so many stories about work that he loved to share with anyone. A natural conversationalist, he cared for everyone in a massive way. Didn't matter if you were a friend, family, coworker, or stranger, John cared for you immensely.

At IIT, he was a Field Operations Manager for 12 years. This is where his love and passion for nature, architecture, animals and other people shined through like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. Previously before this, he was also a Facilities Manager at Panasonic for over a decade as well.

John loved spending time outdoors. Always looking for excuses to be outdoors (like "I need to work on my tan" and "the lawn won't mow itself" while it's raining outside), he would spend a lot of his free time away from work outside. In his younger years, one of his favorite outdoor hobbies was golfing, in which he would go shoot 18 holes every Sunday.

Other things that John enjoyed was joking around and messing around. John redefined the term "dad joke". Up until his final days, there was nothing that he couldn't twist and turn into a funny joke. His main goal was to make other people laugh, but you can guarantee he always made himself laugh!

Besides joking around and being outdoors, John loved playing games. There are many self-proclaimed "Scrabble Kings" in the Wachowski family, and he may have just been the cream of the crop. In card games, he was always famous for "taking the blind" in Sphick, off-throwing suits in 31, falling two phases behind in Phase 10, and going for "Nil" in Spades.

For other types of games, John was a huge fan of Toe Jam & Earl. Highly competitive and cooperative, he would always have a good time while listening to that funky music. His most favorite game of all time was certainly Super Monkey Ball. John spent hours and hours playing the "Bowling" mini-game in that game, and quite a bit of time playing the "Golfing" mini-game as well.

Some of his other hobbies and joys included watching movies (John saw "The Fugitive" more times than his family could count, but also enjoyed movies like A Few Good Men, My Cousin Vinny and Empire Strikes Back), feeding the birds (though secretly, John was feeding the squirrels), cooking, collecting rocks, and wearing neon-colored clothing.

John will be remembered for his large heart, his beaming smile, his totally-amazing fashion sense, and his laugh filling a room. Above all else, he was a husband, a father, a cousin, a brother, and a friend. He will rest easy in everyone's heart and souls forever.

Survivors include his wife, Janine; his son, Kyle (Mia) Wachowski; and his brother, Norbert Wachowski (Scott Erwin).

He was preceded in death by his parents; daughter, Alexis; brother, Tommy; uncle Art and aunt Jan.

His visitation will be on Saturday, March 4 from 2:00-5:00 PM at the Slater-Butala Funeral Home, 132 W. Main St., Genoa, IL. with a funeral service beginning at 5:00 PM with Pastor Kip officiating.

Burial will be private.

To sign the online guest book, go to www.ButalaFuneralHomes.com