Funeral Arrangements Set for State Rep. Julie Plawecki

State Sen. David Knezek remembers Plawecki as a “mother figure”

Visitations for late state Rep. Julia Plawecki (D-Dearborn Heights) begin Thursday evening in Garden City. Plawecki died last weekend of an apparent heart attack while hiking in Oregon with her daughters.

State Sen. David Knezek (D-Dearborn Heights) announced her death to the public via Facebook on Saturday. The two Democrats both represented Dearborn Heights, Garden City, and Inkster. Knezek tells WDET’s Jake Neher that Plawecki was more than just a colleague in the Legislature.

From Knezek’s announcement on Facebook:

Julie was just a great woman, that’s all there is to it. She was whip smart. She had a heart of gold. She was a bulldog on issues she cared about. She was a bulldog on issues you cared about, too. She was the epitome of class. Her style and her grace came effortlessly. She loved with everything she had. She gave every ounce of her that she could. She was a model Representative… The Legislature barely deserved her. Her constituents couldn’t have asked for better.

“This is somebody who I looked up to,” says Knezek. “So many of us younger guys and girls, we really looked to her as sort of a mother figure in town. And everybody else just saw her as a real human being. She had no ego. She was truly there to do the right thing, and I think that’s what made her so special.”

Here are details of visitations for Rep. Plawecki, as well as her memorial service:

Visitations

Thursday, June 30, 2016
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
John N. Santeiu & Son Funeral Home 
1139 N. Inkster Road 
Garden City, Michigan 48135

Friday, July 01, 2016
2:00 PM – 8:00 PM
John N. Santeiu & Son Funeral Home 
1139 N. Inkster Road 
Garden City, Michigan 48135

Friday, July 01, 2016
7:00 PM
John N. Santeiu & Son Funeral Home 
1139 N. Inkster Road 
Garden City, Michigan 48135

Memorial Service

Saturday, July 02, 2016
10:00 AM
Church of the Divine Child 
1055 N. Silvery Lane 
Dearborn, Michigan
 

Author

  • Jake Neher
    Jake Neher is senior producer for Detroit Today and host of MichMash for 101.9 WDET. He previously reported on the Michigan Legislature for the Michigan Public Radio Network.