Paul Zenon Wos

Wos, Paul Zenon

In loving memory of Paul Zenon Wos

On December 2, 2013, Paul Wos passed away at his home in Sarasota, FL at the age of 92. An intrepid fighter for freedom all his life, Paul was a combat veteran of the anti-Nazi and anti-Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939. During the Holocaust, Paul Wos, along with his father, mother, and siblings, rescued the Jewish Melamed family and other Jews, including future professor Israel Shahak. For this selfless act, Paul was awarded the Yad Vashem Medal, "Righteous Among the Nations." At the time, Paul Wos also volunteered as a soldier in the underground Polish Home Army. In its ranks, he participated in the Warsaw Rising of 1944. Captured by the Germans, along with his family members, he became a prisoner of the Nazi Flossenburg Concentration Camp. After the liberation by the Americans, he participated as a courier in the anti-Communist underground, traveling between the West and Soviet-occupied Poland, which he was eventually forced to leave.

Paul Wos settled in the United States in 1961, first in New York, and then retiring in Sarasota, Florida. Engineer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, Polish and American Patriot, he became an avid traveler upon his rather late retirement. He also penned a memoir, sponsored a variety of charitable and educational causes and remained active in various Polish organizations including veteran groups. Paul Wos lived his life by believing it was everyone's moral obligation to always do the right thing. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Wanda; his son, Konrad Wos; his daughter, Ambassador Aldona Wos; their spouses Meggan Walsh and Louis DeJoy, as well as four grandchildren, Taylor and Carson Wos and Ania and Andrew DeJoy and a sister, Wanda Wos-Lorenc. He is preceded in death by his sister, Irena Wos-Madejski and his brother, Jerzy Odon Wos.

Contributions can be made in memory of Paul Zenon Wos to the following organizations: Institute of World Politics, 1521 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036; Designate for the Kosciusko Chair or Victims of Communism Foundation, 1521 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036. Send acknowledgment to: Ambassador Aldona Wos and Mr. Louis DeJoy, 806 Country Club Dr., Greensboro, NC 27408.