Memorials › Dorothy F. Kowalski Molczyk

Dorothy F. Kowalski Molczyk

6 Jul 1905 – 20 Jan 2000

Birth	6 Jul 1905
Death	20 Jan 2000
Cemetery	Westlawn Memorial Cemetery Grand Island , Hall County , Nebraska , USA
Added by	Lawrence molczyk on 29 Dec 2023
FaG	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9986657

Bio

Daughter of Gregory & Josie (Shuda) Kowalski. Married to Stanley Molczyk on 5-23-1926 at Primrose, NE. Homemaker, employee of St. Francis Hospital, and baby sat children. Dorothy Molczyk AURORA -- Dorothy R. Molczyk, 94, of Hamilton Manor in Aurora died Thursday, Jan. 20, 2000, at Hamilton Manor. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Grand Island. The Rev. Don Larmore will officiate. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m., with a 7 p.m. rosary, Sunday at the church. Memorials are suggested to the family. Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Mrs. Molczyk was born on July 6, 1905, at St. Libory to Gregory and Josie (Suida) Kowalski. She grew up on the family farm five miles northwest of St. Libory. She moved to Ashton at the age of 12 and then to a farm in Boone County. She married Stanley Molczyk on May 23, 1926, at Primrose. They moved to Alda in 1949. Mr. Molczyk was killed in a train accident in 1953. Mrs. Molczyk moved to Grand Island in 1962. She worked at St. Francis Hospital for seven years and later baby-sat children for eight years. She had lived at Hamilton Manor for two years. Mrs. Molczyk was a member of the Catholic faith. Survivors include three sons, Clement of Alda and Raymond and George, both of Grand Island; two daughters, Rose Mary Zelasney of Schuyler and Lorraine Oberschulte of Grand Island; 21 grandchildren; 65 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by two grandsons; five sisters, Kate, Anna, Gertrude, Marie and Helen; and six brothers, Roman, Greg, Walter, Tony, Harry and Joe. Reflections of Dorothy F. Molczyk by her grandson, Larry January 24, 2000 Grandma was born July 6,1905 on a farm northwest of St. Libory, Nebraska in Howard County. She was the fifth of twelve children born to Gregory Kowalski and Josie Suida. When she was twelve years old she and her family moved to a farm west of Ashton, where she attended Catholic school. She later attended the nearby Schaupps school. In all she had about three years of formal schooling. Her reading skills were mostly self taught. Nevertheless, throughout her life she avidly read newspapers and magazines and was one of the family's most prolific letter writers. As a young girl, she helped with the farm work. Many years later, she loved to reminisce with friends at the Grand Generation Senior Center about working with the animals and helping with the field work. She was musically inclined, when young and played Polish music on instrunments which included the bass viol, mandolin, violin and accordion at barn dances. On May 23, 1926 she was married to Stanley Molczyk in Primrose, Nebraska. Their first home was on a nearby farm. Life was often hard as they faced the depression era together. Five children were born to Dorothy and Stanley; three sons, George, Clement and Raymond and two daughters; Lorraine and Rosemary. At the time of her death, she had 21 grandchildren, 65 great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. Stanley, was killed in a train accident at Clarks in 1953. Grandma stayed in Alda, where they were living at the time but in 1962 she moved to Grand Island. For many years, she and her daughter, Lorraine lived together, until Lorraine's marriage in 1963. Over the years, Grandma often worked as a baby sitter. But in 1964 she began work at the St. Francis Hospital, where she continued to be employed as a housekeeper for the next seven years. Grandma was always up for a card game and taught most of her grandchildren the game of 500 rummy. Wednesday nights were reserved for wresting on KHAS-TV. She was as enthralled by the antics of Mad Dog Vaschone and Killer Kowalski as her ten year old grandsons... She loved fried chicken, "chicken on the bone" as she called it was a demand long after nursing home staff decided she was at risk for choking. She was well-known for gnawing the leftover bones at the dinner table. Sucking out the marrow and extracting the last bit of nourishment had been a depression era necessity. Now it was a habit, which occupied her as she exchanged family gossip after the meal. As she grew older, life only got better for Grandma. She had a large, loving family as well as an active social life, which consisted primarily of bingo on any given night of the week. Ultimately, she discovered the companionship of others at the Grand Generation Center. At the center she would play cards and share meals with new friends several times a week. In May of 1988 she was honored as senior citizen of the month. She had lived in a series of apartments over the years, but ultimately found her way into a small duplex on South Eddy Street. She loved her little home. Small as it was, a new visitor could expect a guided tour. Grandma, like a school marm, with wooden pointer in hand would end her presentation with an explanation of the large collage of family photos over her couch. The photo collage was started anew when she entered the Wood River Nursing Home in 1991. It seemed an incongruous aspect of Grandma's character but Grandma somehow developed a love for golf. A good PGA tournament would keep her glued to the set for hours. She also loved her newspaper and gossip magazines like the Enquirer. Magazine subscriptions as a gift were always a sure bet. With so many children and grandchildren and so many birthdays and Christmases behind her, the right gift for grandma became more difficult with each passing year... but another sure bet was a calendar towel each Christmas. Grandchildren vied for the privilege of being able to give this year's towel. For grandma, the task of keeping up with recognizing the special events of her growing family was tremendous. She was a woman of limited resources but always faithful in her remembrances. By way of gift giving, Christmas and birthday cards with money enclosed were regular as the seasons. For many years, the going rate for grandchildren was a dollar bill while adults received two. Finally, we will never forget that the near proximity of Grandma's July 6th birthday and the fourth of July, earmarked that weekend for celebration and many coincident family reunions. Campouts and picnics attended by the ever-growing extended family, marked the occasion. As years passed, she was the last surviving member of her generation and a focus for such reunions. Grandma loved being with her family. As her health deteriorated, she still looked forward to those occasions where she could leave the nursing home and be with them. Each time her eyes would light up over the prospect of such a get-together. "Will everyone be there?" she would ask expectantly... not even realizing the physical difficulties involved in of getting them all together under one roof. But we would always say, "Yes, Grandma, they'll all be there..." "Everyone?," she'd say again. "Yes, we'll all be there, Grandma.". Today, once again we find ourselves a family in reunion... once again this woman has brought us together. And once again we can say, "Yes, Grandma, we'll all be there. Because, we love you."

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Family

Parents

Spouse

Stanley Molczyk 1900–1953

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Children

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