John Nicolajski didn't believe in wasting time on things past.

A Polish immigrant who survived World War II, Mr. Nicolajski preferred to concentrate on things to come and to make every moment count.

"He wouldn't talk about the war if I asked him as a kid, but he told us to instead look ahead to the future and what it holds for us," said his son, John Nicolajski.

Mr. Nicolajski, 93, of Shaler, died Thursday of natural causes.

He was born in Poland and fought for the Allies as a member of the Polish Cavalry during World War II. Early in the war, he received a shrapnel wound and was captured by the Germans.

Following the war, Mr. Nicolajski lived in a camp for displaced survivors. The camps housed those who had lost homes and loved ones and had nowhere else to go. It was there that he founded a school. He also met his future wife, Bernice Poblocki, who was a nurse at the facility.

The Nicolajskis spent nearly four years in the camp, where they married and had their first child, Andrew. In 1949, Mr. Nicolajski emigrated to the United States. His wife and child stayed in Poland until he became established and found work here, at which time he sent for them to join him.

"He never spoke too much about his reasons for coming here," said his son. "I always assumed it was because most of Europe had been destroyed and he saw a better future for us here."

Despite the hardships he endured in his earlier life, Mr. Nicolajski looked ahead to a bright future. He encouraged those around him to do the same.

His son said a good example of that was a time when he drove his dad's car to go to the store. He saw the rear- and side-view mirrors were turned in and it wasn't possible to see what was behind the car. while driving.

"I adjusted them ... and asked dad if he realized his mirrors were set inward and you couldn't see out of them," he said. "And he told me he knew, and asked me, 'Why do I need to see what's already behind me?'"

Mr. Nicolajski found work almost immediately here as a spring maker. It was a job he kept for 30 years, retiring in 1979 at the age of 65.

He also was a secretary for Gmina, a mom-and-pop building and loan association in Lawrenceville that specialized in helping Polish immigrants secure loans to build homes.

Proud of his heritage, Mr. Nicolajski spent most of his spare time teaching Polish language and culture classes.

Those classes started with the Diocese of Pittsburgh, but later expanded to be a part of the Polish Cultural Council program in Pittsburgh. The program was affiliated with the Polish National Alliance.

"His students liked his class because it was split evenly between Polish culture and the Polish language," said his son. "I've gotten a lot of compliments about how interesting it was from his former students."

Mr. Nicolajski also believed there were two sides to every story, and encouraged his children to remember that in everything they did.

"My dad's favorite saying was 'Every string has two ends'," said his son.

In addition to his son, John, of Glenshaw, Mr. Nicolajski also is survived by son Andrew Nicolajski, of Brandon, Fla.; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife.

A Mass was celebrated Wednesday morning at the Holy Family Church, Our Lady of the Angels Parish.