Stanislawa (Jajko) Rzepala

Stanislawa Rzepala, formerly of Port Chester, NY, passed away at the Sarah Neuman Center in Mamaroneck on Sunday evening, April 24, 2016.  She was the wife of the late Jan Rzepala who passed away on November 27, 1979.  Stanislawa was known to her friends and family simply as “Stella.”  Her life story encompasses 95 years, 2 continents, 4 countries, and a World War.  Stella was born in Ufa, Russia, daughter of Jozef and Marja Jajko.  Her family had been sent to Siberia prior to her birth as a result of Russian Pogroms.  She returned to Poland as a young girl, and lived there until the Nazi invasion in 1939 when she was forcibly taken to Germany to work as a laborer on a farm during World War II.  Her life on the farm consisted of hard work, occasional physical and emotional abuse, threats on her life, and very little food.

After the war, Stella was sent to a Displaced Persons (DP) camp in Heilbronn, Germany for relocation where she met and fell in love with the man who would be her husband for 34 years.  They were married in 1945, and welcomed their first son, Zdislaw, in 1946.  Two years later, another son, Edward, was born.  They continued to live in the DP camp until their hopes and dreams came true when they received a sponsor in the United States allowing them to immigrate to America.  They arrived in the US in 1951, and settled in Port Chester, NY which had a large Polish-American community and a Polish Church, The Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Stella and Jan immediately found jobs in their new country to support their family, Jan as a Landscaper, Stella as a housekeeper. Stella was fiercely devoted to her husband and children.  She made sure the boys attended school and did their homework.  She monitored their afterschool activities, and made sure they only associated with good friends.  She went to every PTA meeting and teacher’s conference.  She also made sure the church was an important part of their lives.  Both boys became Boy Scouts, and attended church classes during the week at the Sacred Heart Church.

Stella enjoyed gardening, spending time with friends, and watching her favorite TV shows, Let’s Make a Deal, The Price is Right, and Judge Judy.  She was a fastidious housekeeper, and kept her small apartment tidy and clean.   She was also an excellent cook, and made many traditional Polish foods such as pierogi, kapusta, and of course, golabki.  No one could leave her dining table without having seconds.

Stella was deeply religious and attended mass, while she was still physically able to, every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation.  The church was a very important part of her life, especially around the Easter and Christmas Holidays when the family and fellow churchgoers would partake of Polish religious customs.  She enjoyed coloring eggs for Easter, and blessing food baskets filled with traditional foods for Easter Sunday.

Stella was a warm and loving person, and made friends easily.  She was very outgoing and would often strike up conversations spontaneously with strangers in stores and malls.   For those who knew her, she was a very special lady, warm, generous, loving, helpful, and caring.   More importantly, she cherished the time she spent with her children and especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren whom she loved dearly, and was very generous to.

Mrs. Rzepala was predeceased by her husband, and her three sisters and three brothers remaining in Poland.  She is survived by her two sons, Zdislaw Rzepala and his wife Antonia of Ossining, NY, Edward Rzepala and his fiancé Dianne Marsden of Lowell, MA, two grandchildren, Jonathan Rzepala and his wife Martha of Lowell, MA, Emma Vasquez and her husband Fernando of Brewster, NY, two granddaughters Sophia and Kathryn Rzepala and three grandsons, Daniel, Eric, and Jordan Vasquez.

The Rzepala family extends its heartfelt gratitude to the staff at the D’Youville Life and Wellness Community in Lowell, Massachusetts, Billerica Crossings Assisted Living Center in Billerica, Massachusetts, and the Sarah Neuman Center in Mamaroneck, New York who took such tender care of Stella over the last year of her life.  Also to her friends and neighbors Andrzei and Janina who kept a watchful eye on her and assisted her on many occasions at her apartment on Irving Avenue. And finally to her doctor, Dr. Preston Lurie who was her Primary Care Physician for many years.