Teh One Who Knocks
06-13-2011, 01:35 PM
By Jim Stingl - The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
David John Dombrowski was very clear when he drafted his last will and testament. He wanted all his worldly possessions to go to the city of Milwaukee's Department of Public Works.
Not to family. Not to charity. But to the department that picks up the trash, plows the snow and beautifies the boulevards.
For 36 years, Dombrowski was part of those crews. He retired from the DPW in 2002.
And on May 30 he died at age 63 at his home, which is part of what the city stands to inherit.
"It was a very thoughtful thing to do, a very nice thing to do, and a very unusual thing to do," said City Attorney Grant Langley, who added that in his 40 years with the city he cannot remember this happening before.
Most of us pay our property taxes grudgingly enough and can't imagine sending another nickel to the city after we die.
At this point, it's unknown how much the total estate is worth. But a cousin of Dombrowski, who told me how disappointed he was not to share in the windfall, said he thinks it's a lot because Dombrowski lived with his mother all his life and held tight to his money.
Dombrowski never married and had no children or siblings. His will named his mother, Sylvia Dombrowski, as the beneficiary, but if she died before him, then the DPW should get everything. She passed in 2005 at age 84. Dombrowski's father, Leo, left the family when David was a child and moved to Chicago. He was only 37 when he died in 1958.
Police were called to David Dombrowski's home in the 2200 block of S. 4th St. after a neighbor said he hadn't seen him in a few days. They found him dead in the bathtub with the water still running and flooding the house and running into the basement. The medical examiner's office said the cause of death is yet to be determined.
Officers located his will and other papers in the house, along with several thousand dollars in cash, which was placed on inventory.
Paul Nowakowski is a Milwaukee lawyer hired by Dombrowski to prepare the will. In 2004, Dombrowski asked the attorney to delete a specific church originally named in the will and replace it with the DPW.
"He didn't really say why, other than the fact that he had a lot of friends in the DPW and enjoyed his time working there. That's pretty much it. He was really kind of a close-lipped individual," Nowakowski said.
City records show that Dombrowski started with the department in 1966 and worked mostly in the forestry and sanitation bureaus. A spokeswoman for the DPW, Cecilia Gilbert, expressed surprise about the will. "Are you sure it doesn't say Cecilia Gilbert?" she joked.
Charles Stutz had the same question. He is a 76-year-old cousin now living in Ocala, Fla.
"I thought I was in the will, you know? He told my mother that her and I were in his will, and all of a sudden I called the attorney today and found out, man, he left it to the city. What a shocker. That's all he had, I guess, is friends at work," Stutz said.
He visits Wisconsin from time to time and would stop to see Dombrowski, who was a bit of a hermit.
"He never went out with women. His mother kept him real close to her. They were just the two of them," Stutz said.
Retired Catholic priest Tom Wittliff lives a few doors down from Dombrowski's place and was his third cousin. He rarely got more than a quick hello from Dombrowski. He chuckled at the notion of city bureaucrats getting all the money. "The boys are going out and ordering big cigars. Hey, I can just see it," he said.
Father Wittliff said a few words at a burial ceremony last week at St. Adalbert Cemetery, where Dombrowski rests near his mother.
City attorney Langley said the Common Council and mayor likely will decide how the money should be spent. He anticipates it will be used for a specific project rather than just being folded into the DPW budget.
"We will do our best to put it to good use and something that he would be proud of," Langley said.
Attorney Nowakowski said every attempt will be made to notify any and all relatives of Dombrowski, though it's unlikely the will could be successfully challenged on the grounds that Dombrowski was incompetent or unduly influenced.
If the court appoints him as personal representative as expected, Nowakowski will explore how much money Dombrowski left behind. The house is assessed at $78,400, according to the city's website.
Nowakowski said he pressed Dombrowski to be more specific about how the DPW should spend the money, but he declined.
"I told the city attorney I talked to that maybe we should make sure there's lots of trees planted on his block."
David John Dombrowski was very clear when he drafted his last will and testament. He wanted all his worldly possessions to go to the city of Milwaukee's Department of Public Works.
Not to family. Not to charity. But to the department that picks up the trash, plows the snow and beautifies the boulevards.
For 36 years, Dombrowski was part of those crews. He retired from the DPW in 2002.
And on May 30 he died at age 63 at his home, which is part of what the city stands to inherit.
"It was a very thoughtful thing to do, a very nice thing to do, and a very unusual thing to do," said City Attorney Grant Langley, who added that in his 40 years with the city he cannot remember this happening before.
Most of us pay our property taxes grudgingly enough and can't imagine sending another nickel to the city after we die.
At this point, it's unknown how much the total estate is worth. But a cousin of Dombrowski, who told me how disappointed he was not to share in the windfall, said he thinks it's a lot because Dombrowski lived with his mother all his life and held tight to his money.
Dombrowski never married and had no children or siblings. His will named his mother, Sylvia Dombrowski, as the beneficiary, but if she died before him, then the DPW should get everything. She passed in 2005 at age 84. Dombrowski's father, Leo, left the family when David was a child and moved to Chicago. He was only 37 when he died in 1958.
Police were called to David Dombrowski's home in the 2200 block of S. 4th St. after a neighbor said he hadn't seen him in a few days. They found him dead in the bathtub with the water still running and flooding the house and running into the basement. The medical examiner's office said the cause of death is yet to be determined.
Officers located his will and other papers in the house, along with several thousand dollars in cash, which was placed on inventory.
Paul Nowakowski is a Milwaukee lawyer hired by Dombrowski to prepare the will. In 2004, Dombrowski asked the attorney to delete a specific church originally named in the will and replace it with the DPW.
"He didn't really say why, other than the fact that he had a lot of friends in the DPW and enjoyed his time working there. That's pretty much it. He was really kind of a close-lipped individual," Nowakowski said.
City records show that Dombrowski started with the department in 1966 and worked mostly in the forestry and sanitation bureaus. A spokeswoman for the DPW, Cecilia Gilbert, expressed surprise about the will. "Are you sure it doesn't say Cecilia Gilbert?" she joked.
Charles Stutz had the same question. He is a 76-year-old cousin now living in Ocala, Fla.
"I thought I was in the will, you know? He told my mother that her and I were in his will, and all of a sudden I called the attorney today and found out, man, he left it to the city. What a shocker. That's all he had, I guess, is friends at work," Stutz said.
He visits Wisconsin from time to time and would stop to see Dombrowski, who was a bit of a hermit.
"He never went out with women. His mother kept him real close to her. They were just the two of them," Stutz said.
Retired Catholic priest Tom Wittliff lives a few doors down from Dombrowski's place and was his third cousin. He rarely got more than a quick hello from Dombrowski. He chuckled at the notion of city bureaucrats getting all the money. "The boys are going out and ordering big cigars. Hey, I can just see it," he said.
Father Wittliff said a few words at a burial ceremony last week at St. Adalbert Cemetery, where Dombrowski rests near his mother.
City attorney Langley said the Common Council and mayor likely will decide how the money should be spent. He anticipates it will be used for a specific project rather than just being folded into the DPW budget.
"We will do our best to put it to good use and something that he would be proud of," Langley said.
Attorney Nowakowski said every attempt will be made to notify any and all relatives of Dombrowski, though it's unlikely the will could be successfully challenged on the grounds that Dombrowski was incompetent or unduly influenced.
If the court appoints him as personal representative as expected, Nowakowski will explore how much money Dombrowski left behind. The house is assessed at $78,400, according to the city's website.
Nowakowski said he pressed Dombrowski to be more specific about how the DPW should spend the money, but he declined.
"I told the city attorney I talked to that maybe we should make sure there's lots of trees planted on his block."