Philip Marvin Krystosek

Philip (PK) Marvin Krystosek died suddenly and unexpectedly on March 5, 2026. He was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 8, 1950, to a large Polish family in Chicago where his father and his mother owned and operated successful diners. He grew up in the restaurant world, bussing tables, washing dishes, and organizing the establishment. He was the youngest of four brothers. They lived in a duplex in the city of Chicago with his maternal grandparents, John and Angela Pogorzelski. He had the wonderful opportunity of spending time with his father’s Minnesota family on the family farm; his first taste of country living and working on the land. He had a special place in his heart for his Minnesota cousins, aunts, and uncles.
PK attended Catholic School in Chicago and diligently rode the bus each day for forty blocks. He graduated from Catholic high school in 1968 and headed to Southern Illinois College in Carbondale, Illinois, where he received a degree in Fine Arts.
His early stage manager job was for Committee For the Future and New World’s Video working for Barbara Marx Hubbard. He then journeyed to Los Angeles where he worked as a stage manager in television before moving up to assistant director on soap operas, game shows, and sit-coms we all watched. His most prominent television job was as assistant director on Coach. He also worked on the films Eve of Destruction and Boiling Point. PK retired from the Director’s Guild in April, 1995 and moved to Wolftown, Virginia. He soon settled in and taught himself to work the land, which he turned into employment for various families in the Madison County area. That was his therapy. His energy was unstoppable.
PK was an avid golfer, voracious reader, and bass fisherman. There was six weeks of downtime in the television industry in the summer. He would often haul his fishing boat from Los Angeles to Holdingford, Minnesota to fish the Mississippi River and then on to Wolftown, Virginia.
PK volunteered at his golf club, Greene Hills, where he helped with the planting of trees. He loved the community and people; always calling to check on his friends and family. He loved music, mostly blues and jazz. He was trying to play the harmonica. He baked bread, cooked, did laundry, and washed dishes. PK was a devout Catholic who kept his deep faith close to his heart. He attended Our Lady of Blue Ridge in Madison, Virginia. He started each day with his Living Faith daily devotional , missal, and a lengthy list of other’s prayer needs.
After retiring from the television and film industry in 1995, PK moved to Kirtley Mountain. He immediately became the steward of the Crossgrove
land and kept the property looking like a park, to this day. He and his loving spouse, Joy, have lived happily there together for the last 22 years.
He was unique, intelligent, and curious. PK was polite, always wanting to know and learn more. All knew his gentle manner; however, he was not without his opinion, and you would not have left the premises without it.
“A bright light has gone out of our world.”
“We can all see up there working on the Pearly Gates and directing traffic.”
“PK was a man of thought, reading extensively and carefully,
adjusting his world view as he learned.”
“He shows up at the showdown.”
“He was the best man I have ever known” - Joy
As his wife I was aware of his proclivities and his tendency to command a situation. In the early years I spoke to a friend about something I had put together that he had totally redone. She looked at me in surprise and asked, “You did know he was a director before you married him, right?”
PK’s ashes will be spread between here and his final resting place in Holdingford, Minnesota where he is to be buried with his father. A mass and service to be held in Opole, Minnesota with his many family members and friends.
He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Joy. He is pre-deceased by his parents, Leo and Mae Krystosek and brothers: Leon, Edward, and Michael.
A simple gathering and celebration of his life is to be held at Preddy’s Funeral Home in Madison, Virginia on Friday, March 13, 2026, from 5-7pm.
A special thank you to EMS Squad of Madison County for their tireless efforts and the kind and diligent attendance of two kind Madison County Sheriff’s.