KAPUSCINSKI, Janina -
My mother, Janina, died on the morning of Saturday, February 17, 2018, at the age of 91. According to the coroner, she did not suffer and died of natural causes. No matter what challenges she faced, Janina’s approach to life had always been easygoing and positive. She loved to smile, laugh, and hug.
Janina was born in the Dąbrowa Coal Basin area of Poland in 1926. Her father, Ignacy, fought in the Polish Army cavalry unit against the Bolshevik invasion in 1921; he later made a living working in a coal mine. Her mother, Marianna, was a homemaker. My mother had two older brothers and a younger sister. They all lived through the horrors of the Second World War, during which her younger brother was executed by the German Nazi occupiers. Our family was destined for extinction, had the German occupation lasted any longer. Thankfully, the war ended and family life went back to almost normal under the new communist regime.
Janina was a beautiful and cheerful young woman in the mid-1940s when she met her future husband, my father, Stanisław Parkitny. They got married and had two boys, me (Jerzy) and my younger brother, Adam. They lived the typical life of a working family facing the difficulties of daily life in post-war Poland. Years later, my parents’ marriage came to an end; my mother went through the next phase of her life taking care of two teenage boys alone.
Years passed and her sons got married and started their own families. I immigrated to Canada and my younger brother remained in our home country. In 1981, Janina decided to visit me and my family in Canada. She arrived in Montreal on an ocean liner; during the sea journey, on December 13, 1981, Martial Law was declared in Poland. This situation altered her plans to return home.
While staying with my family in the Greater Toronto Area, Janina met John Kapuściński, an active member of the Polish Veterans community in Whitby. They got married in 1982 and lived together in Whitby. They had a lot of friends, most of whom were part of the Polish Veterans community. For all important religious and family holidays, both sides of their family gathered in their Whitby home.
Janina was very conscientious about living a healthy lifestyle. She enjoyed reading books, watching TV shows, taking bicycle rides with her dog, Sandra, and talking with her family and friends. Years ago, during one of her bike rides with Sandra sitting in the bicycle basket, my mother lost her balance. In order to ensure that Sandra did not get injured, she fell in such a way that saved Sandra but resulted in my mother breaking her arm. Janina did not complain about her injury; she was simply happy that Sandra was okay.
Another turn in Janina’s life came when John got sick and passed away in 2001. She moved to an apartment and decorated it with pictures, photographs, and memorabilia showing happy moments from her life. As time passed, she had a number of encounters with illness, emergency calls, and surgeries, but her attitude always remained positive.
The last time I saw my mother was the morning of Friday, February 15, one day before her unexpected passing. I visited her to get her signature on a passport application, since she was planning to travel to Poland. She was in good spirits and ready to commence her daily routine: riding her stationary bicycle. My brother, Adam, also had the opportunity to talk to our mother on Saturday morning, just one hour before she passed away.
My mother, Janina, is survived by her two sons and their wives (in Canada and Poland), as well as her grandchildren and great-grandchildren in Canada, Poland, and Germany.
Goodbye and Rest in Peace - Requiescat in pace - Spoczywaj w Pokoju
- Her son, Jerzy Parkitny, on behalf of all members of her extended family