Maria (Polonis) Smielewska

Maria (Polonis) Smielewska, 102, passed away peacefully on April 29, 2020, at Litchfield Woods Health Care Center.  Maria was born in Dorchester, MA on March 10, 1918 to the late Jan and Anna Polonis.  She spent her childhood in Boston and at the age of fifteen moved with her family to Bydgoszcz, Poland where she would spend the next sixty years of her life.  During those years, she dedicated herself to being a wife to her adoring husband, Bronislaw Smielewski, a mother to two loving children, and a career woman working as an administrator at a local high school.  Following the deaths of her husband of fifty-four years and her beloved daughter, Regina, Maria returned to the United States to be with her son and his family.

Maria is survived by her loving and devoted son, Stefan, and his wife, Krystyna, as well as a sister, Jadwiga Januszkiewicz, of Poland.  She also leaves her grandchildren Ewa Sikorska, Mariusz Bylinski, Monika Smielewska, Magda (Andrey) Antov, and Martyna (Craig) Lovely as well as five great-grandchildren, three great-great-grandchildren, a niece, a nephew, a great-niece, and a great-nephew.

Maria was a strong woman with a remarkable zest for life.  She cherished her family and was immensely proud of her children and grandchildren.  Maria lived a long and beautiful life during which she shared many joys and milestones with her loved ones.  We were blessed to have her in our lives for as long as we did.

The family would like to thank the staff at Litchfield Woods for their care, particularly during Maria’s final days.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Catholic funeral mass and burial will take place in Poland at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, please say a prayer and consider doing a random act of kindness in honor of Maria.