Alexander F Michalewicz

Alexander F. Michalewicz, age 64, lifelong resident of Bridgeport, passed away at Bridgeport Hospital the evening of Saturday, June 29, 2024. Born the youngest of four to Alphonse and Josephine (Wojciechowski) Michalewicz, Alex graduated with the Class of 1977 from Bullard Havens Technical School, having specialized in auto mechanics.

Alex was just a big kid who never grew out of playing with cars. His love for cars began as early as he was able to talk, rattling off the year, make, and model of every car he saw on the road as a little boy. As a teenager, Alex would fix and tinker with the neighborhood bicycles, go karts, and lawnmowers. He excelled in his shop work at Bullard Havens and easily found work out of high school where he defined his skills. He worked for a variety of shops over the course of his 47 year career, from new car dealerships to small, family owned establishments.

Alex always had the need for speed, actually inheriting his lead foot from his mother. He loved to ride his Harley Davidson Softail any day the weather allowed for it, his favorite ride being the backroads to Marcus Dairy in Danbury. Over the years, he owned very many “fun” cars including, but not limited to, an MG Midget, a Mazda RX-7, a Cadillac El Dorado, a Lancia or two, and his Chevy Nova that he turned into a drag racer. He would bring his car down to Englishtown, NJ to race on the weekends. His car earned him the nickname Aldo Nova, after a contemporary rock artist of the 80’s.

Over the years, he went by several variations of his name, as well as some nicknames, such as Big Al or Cotton, but his favorite one of all was Dad. Being a father was his self-proclaimed greatest accomplishment. Fatherhood allowed him to unleash his inner child again as he would buy video games and fun toys or gadgets to enjoy together with his daughter, Leah. It brought him so much joy to welcome his son-in-law, Edgar, into the family, gaining the son he never had. Al and Ed enjoyed being big kids with each other too, and would fly their drones together at Beardsley Park.

Alex loved rock and roll; the louder, the better. Some of his favorites were Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult, Judas Priest, and The Tubes (just to name a few). He also loved to laugh, he was very quick witted and sure to come up with a good one-liner in just about any situation. Alex very much so lived life on his own terms, and certainly lived his life to the fullest.

Alex will be sorely missed by his daughter, Leah Michalewicz, and her husband, “My Guy” Edgar Villagran; his siblings, Alphonse (Sue) Michalewicz, Jr., Joanne Horodysky, and AJ (Patricia) Michalewicz; his nieces, Krista (Kevin) Tetreault and Kerry Michalewicz; his pseudo- daughter and “Munchkin”, Shannon Sadler; his “Little Guy” Richard Villagran, as well as many other friends that he held close to his heart.

Friends and family are invited to celebrate the life of Alex on Sunday, July 14, 2024 at 3pm in the Spear-Miller Funeral Home, 39 South Benson Road, Fairfield, CT. Visitation will precede the service from 1-3pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Alex’s memory to the American Heart Association .