Rudnik, John (Janusz), age 81, of NE Minneapolis. Passed away from cancer on Thursday, April 23rd, 2026. He discovered America on Columbus Day, October 11, 1970, at the age of 25. He was born in the small town of Krynki, Poland, where he grew up and went to school. He also finished technical school in Poland, as well as serving in the Polish Military, where he would operate tanks and performed many other tasks. A few years later, on June 22nd, 1968, he met a wonderful young lady (Mary Jane) from America, and ended up marrying her. Not once, but twice! The first time was on June 28th, 1969, in Poland. After which John then he came to the U.S. to join his wife and build a good life—which he did. The second time was on January 23rd, 1971, at Holy Cross Catholic Church, in Northeast Minneapolis. They stayed married until his passing last month.

John was a talented woodworker who could make or fix anything. In the early 1990s, he earned his college degree, an accomplishment he was very proud of. (He even ended up teaching the class he was in, because he was more skilled & qualified than the instructor they had teaching.) He loved building solid oak cabinets and custom oak entry doors. He made everything. From solid oak bedroom sets, custom maple and oak aquarium stands, very high quality executive desks and even created his own intricate stained glass windows. He was extremely talented! He was also a very capable Machinist, who was able to create just about any tool, or fabricate any type of machine that he needed to complete a custom project that he was working on. He always found a way!

He loved spending time at the cabin in Spooner, WI—especially evenings by the bonfire, singing and playing the accordion as the music echoed across the lake. He also loved fishing, but was always too busy to go fishing.

John also went on many road trips through his life. He visited Yellowstone National Park, Montana, the Badlands, The Dakotas, Alexandria, MN, Wisconsin Dells, Chicago and many other cities. He also went on a road trip with his son Ron, and grandson Blake, down to Tampa/Clearwater Florida in 2009. He even stayed up for the entire drive down and back up, which took about 24 hours straight through each way. They stopped at many places in the Tampa/Clearwater area. One of them being a very old large tree, as well as Raymond James stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers! We even witnessed the space shuttle Discovery launch, all the way from Tampa. He really enjoyed that.

John is survived by his wife, Mary Jane (Protasiewicz); son Ronald (Mary); grandchildren Blake and Jasmine; two sisters, Jadwiga Panasewicz of Poland, and Marysia Jorgowska of Germany; and brothers-in-law Frank and Ronald Protasiewicz. He also had many friends in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona, Florida, and Poland.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 1621 University Ave NE, on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 11:15 a.m., with visitation at 10:15 a.m. Burial will be private. Full obituary notice at the Cremation Society of MN website.