Manfred "Manny" Paul Zbawiony

Manfred Zbawiony

December 10, 1944 – October 8, 2026

 

Manfred Zbawiony, who at 18 crossed the Atlantic alone to start a new life in America, passed away peacefully at home on October 8, 2026, surrounded by family and friends. He was 81.

 

Born in the farm village of Polkau, Germany, in the final months of World War II, Manfred was an infant when his family fled the Soviet-occupied east. His older sister Else's indomitable spirit got the family to safety. She led them across fields and forests, pushing a baby carriage and talking their way past Russian soldiers, until they reached the American side and were reunited with their father in Essen, Germany.

 

Manfred grew up in postwar Essen, where he trained as an automobile mechanic and graduated in 1962 as a licensed Porsche and VW mechanic, one of the top five in a class of 150. As a teenager he and his friend Peter took two epic bicycle tours across Europe, through Holland, Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, and then on to Denmark and Sweden. Manfred would soon embark on his greatest journey to America

 

On May 31, 1963, Manfred sailed into New York aboard the TS Bremen. He settled in Detroit, where he began working as a mechanic, and in 1964 he bought a brand-new Oldsmobile 442, the moment, he said, that the American dream started to work.

 

In 1966 Manfred was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam with the 27th Combat Engineer Battalion, helping build a base camp for the 11th Cavalry. On leave in Tokyo, he met his future wife, Hisako, through a chain of pen pals that began with a fellow soldier's mother. They married on October 5, 1968, and celebrated 50 years of marriage in 2018. They raised their son, Michael, in Highland, Michigan.

 

Manfred built his career in the automotive industry as a service advisor at a Volkswagen dealership in Mt. Clemens and later at Autobahn Motors in Bloomfield Hills and finally the LaFontaine Automotive Group. Manfred’s charisma and smile left an indelible mark on clients and colleagues alike. 

 

Manfred loved soccer, traveling, and reading, and he was devoted to his faith, family and friends. Most of all, he delighted in the success of his grandchildren, whom he loved more than anything else.

 

Manfred is survived by his son, Michael Zbawiony; his grandchildren, Marin, Benjamin, and Sophia Zbawiony; and his sister, Else Briggs. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of more than 50 years, Hisako, who passed in 2025; his parents, August and Lydia; and his brother, Erwin.

 

Manfred will be interred at the Great Lakes National Cemetery.

 

In lieu of flowers, the Family would ask that donations be made to the Department of Veterans Affairs.