PASSAGES
Each day the newsroom selects one obituary and seeks to learn more about the life of a person who has lived and worked in Maine. We look for a person who has made a mark on the community or the person's family and friends in lasting ways.
He may have been young when he died, but for friends and family of Edmund James Szalajeski – also known as "E.J." or "Taz" – he was able to impart a piece of age-old wisdom they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
"He'd say to me, 'Mom, you've got to live now,' " said his mother, Pam Szalajeski of Portland.
"My son lived for the moment," added his father, Edmund E. Szalajeski.
Mr. Szalajeski, 38, of Portland, died Thursday, one day after undergoing open-heart surgery.
He leaves behind his wife, Lisa, and their 6-year-old son, Zackery.
Though he had worked for the past five years at Unum in the company's information technology department, his true passion was sports photography.
He enjoyed photographing local sports events, especially horse racing at Scarborough Downs. Mr. Szalajeski worked as a part-time photographer for the racetrack.
This year he began taking photographs for the Maine Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association yearbook.
He traveled to Aroostook County on two occasions to photograph horses.
"He prided himself on getting the perfect picture of what he called a horse flying over the track," his father said.
"He was quite an artist. He had the eye," his mother added.
Their fondest memory of their son may have been an interaction they saw him have with his child. While his wife was grocery shopping one day, he and Zackery waited for her in his truck, which had a moon roof. He entertained his son by singing to him. They could see Zackery dancing and waving his arms through the roof of the truck.
"You could see my son's hands too," his mother said.
His parents said their son's health became a concern to his doctors a few weeks ago, after he developed pneumonia. His doctors determined he would require surgery to correct an aortic aneurysm.
His mother-in-law, Vicki Roak of Portland, said his death "left this big empty hole in our life."
Roak said the family is closely knit and will do whatever it can to help his wife and child.
"We'll pull together," Roak said.
In addition to photography, Mr. Szalajeski enjoyed skiing at Sunday River, surfing, white-water canoeing and kayaking.
He also played football for Deering High School, from which he graduated in 1989.
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