Obituary of Stefan M. Kowalczyk

Stefan M. Kowalczyk, 89, formerly of Chicago, IL, passed peacefully on Saturday, December 17, 2011 at the Gardens at Providence, Mt. Juliet, TN. Stefan is survived by wife, Lucy Danek Kwalczyk; brother, Casimir; children, Christine (Kevin), Robert (Cara) and Alice (Imants); grandchildren, David, Claire (Damian), Caitlyn, Jeremy (Erica), Austin, Eric, and Jillian; and great-grandson, Carter. Stefan, a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, was a member of St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church in Lebanon, TN. Stefan was born on September 5, 1922 in Swiniec, Poland. As a young man he joined the Polish Underground Army (Armia Krajowa) where he fought in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising in a struggle to liberate Warsaw from Nazi occupation and was captured by the Germans. Following the end of the war he immigrated to the United States and became a US citizen. He settled in Chicago, where he met his wife, Lucy and raised their 3 children. Throughout his life, Stefan continued to help fellow Poles to escape Communism and establish a fresh start in the US. Stefan was preceded in death by parents, Andrew and Maria Kowalczyk; brother, John; and sisters, Sr. Aleksandra and Lodzia. Mass in Stefan's honor will be held at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church in Lebanon, TN on Friday, December 23, 2011 at 1 pm. Interment will be at St. Adalbert's Cemetery, Niles, IL this Spring. Arrangements by SELLARS FUNERAL HOME AT MT JULIET, 2250 N. Mt. Juliet Road, Mt. Juliet, TN 37122, 615-758-5459, obituary line 615-758-8818, www.sellarsfuneralservices.com