WLADYSLAWA (GLADYS) GRABOWSKI

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WLADYSLAWA (GLADYS) GRABOWSKI Our loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Wladyslawa (Gladys) Grabowski, passed into the Kingdom of God on August 11, 2007, at the Red River Place personal care home, Selkirk, Manitoba. Our Mother was born on December 25, 1920, in Piotrkow, Poland, to Franciszek and Stanislawa Koziol. The eldest of eight children, she was educated and then trained as a seamstress and worked close to home until 1942. In November 1942, she was deported to Nazi Germany to work in various factories until the end of the war. In 1945, while living in a German relocation camp, she met and married Piotr (Peter) Grabowski, and in 1951, they chose to leave a war torn Europe, and immigrate to Canada with the hope of finding a better place to raise their young family. They chose Selkirk, where she has resided for the past 56 years. She took great pride in her home and in the life that they made in Canada. Her days were filled with caring for her children and grandchildren, cooking, gardening, needlework, visiting with friends and of course sewing. Many wedding, bridesmaid, and graduation gowns passed through her sewing machine over the years. She enjoyed making them as much as her clients enjoyed wearing them. She was a proud Canadian citizen, but concern for the safety and well being of distant family members in Poland always remained in her heart. She was predeceased by her parents, one brother in infancy, four brothers-in-law and her husband Piotr (1990). She is survived by her four children and spouses and nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild: Anna Tepleski (Tom) of Kelowna, Michael and Jennifer of Calgary; Peter (Bish) Grabowski (Anne), Christopher and Laura of Edmonton; John Taylor (Karen), Lori and great-granddaughter Felicity and Alan of Winnipeg, Tara of Vancouver; Mary Shumilak (Tony) of Battleford, Saskatchewan, Reagan and Geoffrey of Saskatoon. She also leaves her loving family in Poland that includes five sisters, one brother, a brother-in-law and numerous nephews and nieces. Prayers will be said on Tuesday (tonight) at 7:00 p.m. in the Gilbart Funeral Chapel, Selkirk, Manitoba. A funeral mass will be held on Wednesday, August 15 at the Notre Dame Roman Catholic Church, Selkirk, at 11:00 a.m. with Fr. Dado Parrenas officiating. Interment will follow in the Parish cemetery. Her pallbearers will be her grandsons and son-in-law Tom Tepleski. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Selkirk District Community Foundation, Box 400, Selkirk, MB R1A 2B3, or the Alzheimer's Society. Gilbart Funeral Home, Selkirk in care of arrangements.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Aug 14, 2007