Joanna Owczarek

Joanna Owczarek

1923-2018

HOLYOKE- Joanna (Grodzka) Owczarek, 94, of Holyoke, passed away peacefully at the Holyoke Health Care Center on Wednesday, January 17, 2018. She was born in Poland on March 18, 1923, a daughter of the late Jan and Maria (Sztaba) Grodzki. In 1937 she moved to Warsaw where she remained until she was conscripted to Germany after the Warsaw uprising of 1944. After the Allied Liberation she moved with her husband- who was an adjutant in the military school for officers in the 2nd Polish Corps under British Command- to Matera, Italy. In late 1946 with the reassignment of her husband’s military unit she moved to England and resided in Wolverhampton for 9 years. After immigrating with her family to the US in August 1955 she settled in Holyoke, where she was employed by Reynolds Manufacturing Company for over 20 years, retiring in 1988. She was a communicant of Mater Dolorosa Church in Holyoke and later Blessed Sacrament Parish. She was predeceased by her husband, Jozef Owczarek. She is survived by her son, Andrew Owczarek and his wife Susan of Idaho; 2 grandchildren, James Joseph and Marla Stewart, and many family members in Poland. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 from 9:30-10:30AM at Messier Funeral Home, 1944 Northampton St, Holyoke, MA followed by A Liturgy of Christian Burial at 11AM in Blessed Sacrament Church, Holyoke. The Rite of Committal and Burial will be in Mater Dolorosa Cemetery, South Hadley. For more details please visit www.messierfuneralhome.com.

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