Downtown Wilkes-Barre office workers say they are going to miss Tony âThe Shoe Guyâ Bonczewski, who died earlier this week at age 91, days after he retired.
Bonczewski was the owner and cobbler of Jordan National Shoe Repair, having been the first tenant of the Bicentennial Building on Public Square when it opened in 1977.
After 76 years in the shoe and accessory repair business, Bonczewski retired on Feb 14. He was to clean the remaining stuff out of his shop on Tuesday, the day he died.
âHis death was a big blow in our building. Everyone was upset. Yesterday was essentially his last day. He didnât show up. Then his son showed up,â said Robert Finlay, president of Humford Equities, which manages the building. âIâve known Tony all my life. He didnât seem right once he announced he was retiring. He used to go in on Saturdays and Sundays to stay active.â
In memory of Tony, Wilkes-Barre s shoe man
Tony Bonczewski passed away overnight in his sleep at the age of 91. This was to be his last week running his shoe repair shop in Wilkes-Barre before retirement. Author: Chelsea Strub Updated: 5:41 PM EST February 23, 2021
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. Whether you were entering 15 Public Square from its front door or the parking garage in the back, there has always been a constant. Not only the signs for Jordan s Shoe Repair but the man behind the shop, Tony Bonczewski, was usually there to say hello. I ve been in this building since 1988, and every morning, come in the back door, and you look automatically in the and see Tony, said Tom Leighton, a former mayor of Wilkes-Barre who has offices in the building. And if he was looking at the door, which most likely was at all times. He gives you that little wave. Coming in this morning and looking in there and seeing Tony was not there was very, very sad.