Ursula Garbicz, 89, of Indiana, passed away Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, at St. Andrew’s Village.
A daughter of the late Nicodem and Jania Oleijniczak, she was born July 2, 1929, in Warsaw, Poland.
In 1944, she and her younger sister lost their parents when the Nazis bombed Warsaw. It was World War II and as a precaution, their parents had sent both daughters to a boarding school run by Catholic nuns to wait out the end of the war.
At 17, she met and married her future husband, Michal. Michal emigrated to the United States and one year later, Ursula joined her husband along with 18-month-old Lester, in Gardner, Mass. Joined by the birth of a daughter, Donna, the family moved to Fitchburg, Mass. Her husband retired in 1977. During this period Ursula took up oil painting and even had an exhibit at the local Fitchburg Art Museum. Ursula had an extensive doll collection and enjoyed playing piano, cooking and sewing, and with her husband, they also enjoyed camping. It was the era of the Cold War and Ursula served her country by teaching the Polish language to the soldiers at nearby Fort Devens.
After celebrating 59 years of marriage, Michal passed away in 2006. Ursula remained in Fitchburg until 2013, when health issues forced her to move to Indiana, where she lived with her son and his wife.
Ursula was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. She will be missed by her son, Lester Garbicz and his wife Rosalie, of Indiana; her daughter, Donna Gordon, of Deerfield Beach, Fla.; three grandchildren: Troy Cote, of Fla.; John Garbicz, of Medina, Ohio; and Angela Bible, of Seville, Ohio; a great-grandson, Liam Garbicz, of Cleveland, Ohio; and a sister.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Michal Garbicz.
Friends and family will be received from 5 p.m. until the time of the Blessing Service at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Robinson-Lytle, Inc. A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Bernard Cemetery, Fitchburg, Mass.
www.robinsonlytleinc.com
