David J. Gwiazda, 81, formerly of Lowell, passed away peacefully on Thursday, August 20, 2026, at Billerica Crossings, with his family by his side. He was the beloved husband of the late Kathleen A. (Quill) Gwiazda, with whom he shared 56 years of marriage, having exchanged vows on July 10, 1965, until her passing on January 16, 2022.
Born in Lowell on August 2, 1945, he was the son of the late Julian Gwiazda, a native of Krakow, Poland, and the late Sophie M. (Douyet) Gwiazda, who was born in Lithuania. David was raised and educated in Lowell, attending St. Stanislaus School and graduating from Lowell High School, after which he went on to attend Lowell State College.
David built his career with the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office at the Billerica House of Correction, where he began as a correction officer and rose through the ranks. Along the way he served as an instructor at the corrections academy, passing along to a younger generation of officers the steadiness and good judgment that defined his own service. He was also a member of the NEMLEC SWAT Team. In the later years of his career, he ran the facility’s mattress shop, overseeing the inmates who produced mattresses used in prisons throughout Massachusetts, work he approached with the same fairness and discipline he brought to everything he did.
Sports were woven through David’s entire life. He was a softball umpire with the ASA and a basketball official with Board 95 IAABO, remaining devoted to both organizations for more than twenty years. He coached baseball at Shedd Park and football with the Lowell Junior Football League, and he was a lifelong and unwavering fan of every Boston team. Most of all, he loved the games his own family played, and there was rarely a season when he was not in the stands cheering someone on.
Family came first, always. A young father who was deeply involved in his children’s lives as they grew, David was the kind of man who could fix anything, a devoted do-it-yourselfer who rarely called for help and rarely needed to. He and his family shared a great love of Disney, traveling there often, and his Donald Duck impression is a sound his children and grandchildren will never forget. Summers were spent at Salisbury Beach, another place that holds a lifetime of family memories.
Those who knew David remember a man who was curious, playful, and enthusiastic, stubborn when he wanted to be, loyal and upright, disciplined in his habits, usually hungry, and a kid at heart to the very end. He was, the self proclaimed, North American Champion of 45’s, this title quickly became the North American Champion of Everything, a title no one in the family ever bothered to dispute.
David is survived by his four children, Lisa Gwiazda, wife of Matthew Donahue of Vermont; David Gwiazda and his wife Alice of Florida; Jeff Gwiazda and his wife Shalia of Andover; and Katelyn Blake and her husband Timothy of West Yarmouth. He also leaves his nine grandchildren, who were his pride and joy, Matthew, Gregory, Andrew, and Peter Donahue, Grace and Ben Gwiazda, and Jackson, Charlie, and Max Blake, as well as many nieces, nephews, and dear friends. He was the brother of the late Joanne Guimond and Michael Gwiazda.
The family wishes to extend their heartfelt thanks to the staff of Billerica Crossings and Beacon Hospice for the compassionate care David received.
Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend visiting hours on Monday, August 24, 2026, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. at the Mahoney Funeral Home, 187 Nesmith Street, Lowell, MA 01852. His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, August 24, 2026, at 12:00 Noon at Immaculate Conception Church, 3 Fayette Street, Lowell, MA 01852. Burial will follow at St. Mary Cemetery, 90 River Road, Tewksbury, MA. Arrangements are under the care and direction of the Mahoney Funeral Home. For additional information or to offer an online condolence, please visit www.mahoneyfuneralhome.com.
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