FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Couple Regretfully Make Last Delivery

For the past 15 years, John and Marie Zackowski have shared the American feast of Thanksgiving with the Mexican people at Casa de Los Pobres.

The couple has brought turkeys across the border to the “House of the Poor” mission in Tijuana, operated by Mexican Franciscan nuns.

Over the years, the couple have solicited financial support from friends, family members and neighbors to help buy the turkeys and trimmings.

One of those friends is Guy Carrozzo, a City Council member.

Carrozzo said it’s touching that the couple continued the charitable work for so many years, and have done so as a gift from their hearts.

“They’ve never had anyone say, ‘Hey, thanks a lot, you’ve done a good job,’ ” he said.

But this year, only 17 people were able to help out financially, compared to as many as 50 donors in previous years.

“Some people have died, some moved and the recession has played havoc with people’s finances,” she said.

“By the grace of God, some benefactors sent generous checks, and we were able to bring 39 big tom turkeys and cases of cranberry sauce, fruit cocktail and potatoes,” she said.

Continuing their tradition, this week the pair loaded up their worn 1976 Chevy van with the holiday goods and delivered them to the mission.

But it was the last time the two, who have lived in Fountain Valley 22 years, will cross the border to take turkeys to the poor people of Tijuana.

The Zackowskis, both 59 and devout Catholics who have five children and 10 grandchildren, said that while they will continue to make personal trips to Casa de Los Pobres, it’s time to turn over their holiday giving to someone else.

“We’re getting older, and my prayer has been that some church or group would adopt the mission,” Marie Zackowski said.

She said the drop in donations this year was “a sign saying, ‘You’ve done enough.’ But we can’t have the mission abandoned.”

John Zackowski, a quadriplegic, said it’s tough to give up helping these people who seek assistance from the mission.

“After getting to know them, they become like family,” he said.

When Marie Zackowski visited Casa de Los Pobres for the first time 17 years ago, she said she was unprepared for the poverty she witnessed. “I was in tears,” Zackowski said, adding that she and her husband often went to Tijuana to shop and dine.

But after that first trip to the mission, she vowed never to go back to Tijuana just to have a good time.

Instead, the couple began making trips to the mission to help with food and clothing.

John Zackowski said the meaning of charity is not taken lightly in his home.

“I think that to help anybody in need is a worthwhile cause.”

His wife agreed. “God has been good to me and my husband. It’s kind of a pay-back,” Marie Zackowski said. “It’s been a real honor to come to know, to love and to serve the poor. And I feel very blessed.”

But Zackowskis said that because thousands of people depend on the mission for their medical needs, food and clothing, their hope is that others will now step in to take the couple’s place.

“So many times, the Mexicans live without hope because their government passes them by,” Marie Zackowski said. “Casa de Los Pobres offers them hope.”

Those interested in helping the couple may call John and Marie Zackowski at (714) 968-2475.