Newly Reelected Councilman in Arcadia Dies

Just four months after narrowly winning reelection, Arcadia Councilman Dennis A. Lojeski, 52, died late Sunday from a brain aneurysm.

Lojeski, whose name had become synonymous with Arcadia boosterism after a dozen years on the council, slipped into a coma and died at Methodist Hospital of Southern California.

He was driving home from a Rancho Cucamonga Quakes minor league baseball game Saturday with his son and friends when he began swerving on the road, complaining of a headache, said his son, Bryan. The friend, who is a surgeon, grabbed the wheel of the car. When Lojeski’s headache worsened, the friend decided to take him to the hospital.

The councilman’s blood pressure was found to be extremely high and a scan revealed bleeding in the brain. Lojeski, who still only complained of a headache, was taken to intensive care about 11:30 p.m., his son said. By 2 a.m. Lojeski slipped into a coma and was placed on a respirator. He died shortly after his daughter, Michelle, arrived.

“He will always be in our hearts and minds,” said Bryan Lojeski. “I would just like to thank everyone. The support has been tremendous.”

Officials and friends mourned his passing, calling Lojeski’s death a loss to the city he helped shape.

“I believe Dennis loved the city of Arcadia more than anyone else I knew,” said City Clerk June Alford.

Former Councilman and Mayor George Fasching, his closest political ally, said Lojeski will be missed.

“He was so valuable to the city. It is a tremendous loss we have to face,” Fasching said. “He was a very close friend. I’m going to miss him something awful.”

Lojeski, a dentist with a practice in Arcadia, was reelected in April by the narrow margin of 37 votes to a fourth council term. He served on the council from April 1982 to April 1990 and then again from April 1992 to the present. He served as mayor in 1983-84 and 1995-96.

In 1990, Lojeski was chosen as Arcadia Citizen of the Year.

Lojeski is survived by his wife, Janet, and his son and daughter. A service for Lojeski will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at Church of the Good Shepherd, 400 W. Duarte Road.