Vic M. Szalankiewicz

After a valiant 3 A‚A½ year battle with cancer, Victor Martin Szalankiewicz, Jr., age 71, a loving husband, father, and grandfather entered eternal life surrounded by loved ones at his home in Pinehurst, NC on August 13th. A former resident of Dallas, Texas, Vic was born in Easthampton, Massachusetts, the son of Victor and Lucy Szalankiewicz. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, Vic was commissioned a 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Marine Corps. He had a 20 year distinguished career in the Marine Corps and served in the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions. He served two tours in the Vietnam War 1967 and 1971, one as a Rifle Company Commander and the other as an Advisor to the Vietnamese Marine Corps. Vic was most proud of the two combat tours he spent with the US and Vietnamese Marines. For his service during this period, he was awarded two Bronze Stars with Combat 'V' for valor and numerous other personal awards. For his meritorious service to Corps and Country, he was also awarded the Legion of Merit. After 20 years of service, he retired as a Lt. Colonel and moved on to the next phase of his life.
Vic worked in management at Satellite Business Systems, and as Director of Operations at RealCom in McLean; VA, as a National Accounts Manager at MCI in Dallas and worked as the Head of SITA's Travel Distribution Sector in Dallas, TX. Later, Vic was assigned to the executive staff at SITA's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2006, he and his wife moved to Pinehurst, NC and shortly thereafter, Vic accepted the position as Chief Financial Officer of Landscape Concepts Construction, Inc in Richmond, Illinois.
Vic is survived by his loving wife Elizabeth of Pinehurst, NC, his daughters, Whitney Szalankiewicz Newell of Winston-Salem, NC and Missy Cottrell of Oakton VA, his sons Victor Martin Szalankiewicz III, of Oakton, VA and John Warren Szalankiewicz of Glenn Burnie, MD, two sisters Lucy Levine of Wolfeboro, NH and Carole Salewski of Lutz, FL, and seven grandchildren: CJ, Ben, Emily, John and Kelly Szalankiewicz and Katie and Keith Knicely.
A memorial service for Victor will be held on Saturday, August18th at 11:00 A.M. at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 300 Dundee Road, Pinehurst. Vic will be interred later this year with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University Medical Center, P.O. Box 3264, Durham, NC 27710 or to the Wounded Warriors Project, P.O. Box 78517, Topeka, KS 66675.