Cecilia S. Swantek

Cecilia Szymanski was born in Hamtramck on August 5, 1923. Her parents were the late Stephen and Caroline Szymanski. She attended St. Ladislaus School and was taught in both Polish and English. Her Dad contracted lead poisoning from the Dodge Main Plant where he worked and for health's sake he decided to leave that job, borrowed money from his cousin and purchased a building on Dequindre and 15 Mile Rd. He opened Steve's Market. Cecilia was in the tenth grade and couldn't complete her education because she was needed to help in her family business. While working at the store, she pursued a cosmetology license. Cecilia met her first husband, John and they married and settled in Utica on Auburn Rd. where Johnny, Nancy, Janice and Edmund were born. They continued to help Steve and Caroline with the daily running of the grocery store/meat market. Cecilia became a full time mother and homemaker and put her home economic skills to use. She loved to bake and find new recipes to try on her family. She could stretch the thinnest of budgets and create interesting and unusual dishes. John worked now at Jones and Laughlin Steel Mill. When he went out on strike for many months she became the most creative cook with powdered milk, canned meat and cheese and powdered eggs. Times being very lean, she also was an amazing seamstress, hair stylist, coupon clipper and food stretcher, working long days and still finding time to help her parents. I am sure she had ambitions to work in a salon but necessity steered her course in a different direction. Never complaining about her sacrifice, she would apply that creativity at home with sewing, crocheting, knitting, food canning and hair cutting and perming for the family. She could lose patience with four active children and at the same time patience unending when instructing them on cooking, baking, sewing or how to iron a shirt or make a bed. Hard economic times tested both John and Cecilia but their love and perseverance never dimmed. Cecilia and John took their family to church every Sunday and stretched that budget even further to send four children to Catholic School. She not only cared for her home and children but aging mother and father as well. Every Sunday they would stop to pick up Busia and Dziadzi and faithfully come to Mass with the extended family. Their son, John was drafted and served in Vietnam. Having married Karen Piontek before his deployment, he returned home and was diagnosed with Leukemia shortly after the birth of his first child Dawn. He passed away in December of 1973. His wife, Karen was then pregnant with their 2nd daughter Johnna. Cecilia and John were devastated at the loss of their son. They rarely spoke of it but grief was apparent. John Sr. also became ill with Hodgkin's disease a few years after and went through several rounds of chemotherapy. He was forced to retire and they had an opportunity to enjoy some traveling to Mexico and the US with their pickup camper. John's health deteriorated . They relocated to Gainesville, Texas for a warmer climate. They enjoyed a few years close to John's brother, Felix. John passed away from cancer in 1983. Cecilia spent days at the hospital faithfully caring for him. She stayed in Texas for a few years and then moved back to Michigan to be closer to her children. She met her second husband, Ralph Swantek . They lived close to both Janice and Nancy for many years. Cecilia developed Lewy body dementia in approximately 2007. She stayed active and enjoyed crossword puzzles and her newfound passion for computer matching games. Over time her interest in those things waned and the disease became more apparent with difficulty completing simple tasks and physical disability. She required skilled nursing care in 2011 and suffered with painful spasms and contractures as well as losing the ability to communicate. Her bright spirit, patient demeanor, and acceptance inspired all who cared for her during those difficult days. She never complained. Swantek-Galubensky, Cecilia Stephanie, age 92, June 20, 2016. Dear wife of Ralph L. Loving mother of Nancy (Anthony) Bellomo, Janice (the late Gary) Taylor, and Edmund (Sue) Galubensky. Daughter-in-law, Karen (Jim) Coulon. Dear grandmother of Ben-Jon (Jill) Bellomo, Roben (Adrienne) Bellomo, Angela (Dana) Gress, Shannon (Ralph) Valente, Tammy (Dave) Brown, Jane (Ricky) Wells, John, and Sandra (Patrick) Conley. Proud great grandmother of Maya Bellomo, Van Bellomo, Isla Bellomo, Neva Bellomo, Bodhi Bellomo, Aidan Gress, Zoe Gress, Noah Gress, Alexander Brown, Makayla Conley, Danica Gress, Austin, Christina, Rebecca Mabbitt, Victoria Mabbitt, and Jonathan Mabbitt. Dear sister of Virginia Tarnowski . Preceded in death by her husband John Victor Galubensky, her son, John Galubensky, and brother Walter Szymanski. Family will receive friends Thursday 1:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. with a prayer service at 7:00 p.m. at the Wm. Sullivan and Son Funeral Home, 8459 Hall Road, (3 Blks E. of Van Dyke) Utica, She will lie in state Friday 10:00 a.m. until time of Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. at St. Ephrem Catholic Church, 38900 Dodge Park, Sterling Heights. Please share a memory at www.sullivanfuneraldirectors.com

Cecilia S. Swantek

August 5, 1923 - June 20, 2016