Mary Gajek of Greenport, and former longtime resident of Woodside, Queens, died on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, at Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital. She was 92 years old.
Mary was born on Nov. 6, 1931, in Jesiorko, Poland to Marcella (née Staszkowski) and Stanislaw Marzec. She was one of two surviving children; four siblings predeceased her during World War II from various causes.
In October of 1951 she married the late Thadeusz Gajek in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Together they had two children.
At a younger age, Mary and her family were sent to Siberia as forced labor during World War II. She was a refugee in Siberia, Middle Asia, Persia, India and Tanzania in Africa, after which she emigrated to England and then to Canada, where she met her husband and had her first child, Richard. She then emigrated to New York where she lived in Woodside. She became a mother for the second time, having Christine, and was also a factory worker, waitress and became a businesswoman.
She was a member of the Ladies Polish Auxiliary in Greenpoint, N.Y. She was also a long-standing Congregant of Corpus Christi R.C. Church in Woodside, as well as member of the church choir there. Mary accomplished the “American Dream” and was helpful to all who knew her.
Predeceased by her husband, Thadeusz, Mary is survived by her children, Richard Gajek (Carol) of Camus, Wash. and Christine Kuhlmann (James) of Greenport; grandchildren Thadeus Gajek, Marcella O’Connor, Mary Kuhlmann and Joseph Kuhlmann; great-grandchildren Darrel O’Connor, Phinneas Gajek, Estelle Gajek, Xander Gajek and Callahan Gajek; and brother Walter Marzec (Czesia) of Ontario, Canada.
The family will receive friends Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold. The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, at noon at Our Lady of Ostrabrama R.C. Church in Cutchogue, with Father Ryszard Ficek officiating. Interment will follow at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Cutchogue adjacent to the church.
This is a paid notice.