Tadeusz Edmund Rurak

Tadeusz Edmund Rurak
Polish Patriot and Veteran,
Great-grandfather; 96
LOWELL Tadeusz Edmund Rurak a well respected member of the Polish Community in Lowell, passed away on December 17, 2009.
He was the beloved husband of Wanda (Rodziewicz) Rurak with whom he would have celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on January 2, 2010.
Born in Lowell January 3, 1913, the son of the late Jan and Maria (Wozniak) Rurak, he attended the
Varnum School and in 1922, at nine years of age, moved with his family to Poland.
In 1935, after graduating from high school, Mr. Rurak enlisted as a cadet in the Polish
Army. With the 1939 German invasion of Poland, Mr. Rurak was mobilized as a 2nd Lieutenant.
In late September 1939, Lieutenant Rurak and a group of about 500 Polish soldiers and officers, withdrawing from the German front, were forced to surrender by Soviet troops who had also invaded Poland. They were taken prisoner with the promise of freedom the next day if they would lay down their arms. Doubting their veracity, Lieutenant Rurak talked his way past a Ukranian guard by convincing him that the Soviet commander had approved his release. His suspicions proved correct when the next day, the remaining men were transported to Russia and were later massacred along with over 14,000 other officers in the Katyn Forest. He and the four friends who had also escaped were smuggled to safety by an already well-organized Polish underground.
Mr. Rurak and his father, Jan, subsequently became active in the underground, stockpiling weapons and conducting sabotage until they were rounded up in the forced deportation of non-Russian ethnic populations in early 1941. They were sent to a labor camp in Siberia.
In 1942, shortly after the agreement signed between the Polish government-in-exile and the Soviet Union to release Polish prisoners-of-war, Mr Rurak rejoined the newly-forming Polish army in the Soviet Union. He met his wife-to-be, Wanda, in a staging camp in central Asia in the Soviet Union from where he moved with the so-called "Anders Army" to the British Middle-Eastern front in Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, and Italy.
Lieutenant Rurak fought in the fierce battle and capture of Monte Cassino, in Italy. He was wounded in battle at Ancona, Italy, and subsequently promoted to Captain. On January 2, 1945 Captain Rurak and Wanda were married in an Italian cathedral with full military regalia. In 1946, with the war over, Captain Rurak's regiment was sent to England for gradual demobilization
In 1948, Mr. Rurak and his family returned to the United States. He worked in several factories and attended evening classes at Lowell Technological Institute and earned an Associate's degree in drafting. In 1956, he began working at Raytheon Corporation in South Lowell as a draftsman and later in a supervisory capacity. Upon his retirement in 1977 from Raytheon, he became a paralegal and worked for the Merrimack Valley Elderly Services. He took pride in helping senior citizens.
Mr. Rurak loved history and for more than 50 years was active in all the Polish Cultural activities in Greater Lowell, organizing historical celebrations, parades, evening classes in Polish language for the local community, and community outreach to Polish post-war immigrants.
For many years, he contributed regularly to the Lowell Sun's Letters to the Editor, writing about Polish history and the Polish Constitution.
He was a member of the Holy Trinity Polish Roman Catholic Church, the Polish Cultural Committee, the
Polish National Alliance, several Polish Army veterans' groups in the US and England, and was a Director and member of the Dom Polski on Coburn Street. In 2002 he was selected Man of the Year by the Polish Community
Mr.Rurak enjoyed reading, writing, and politicking. He could recall dates and events and even conversations from the past as if they occurred yesterday. He would pass on stories and history in an effort to keep the spirit of the Polish heritage alive and not forgotten.
Most importantly, he enjoyed spending time with his family.
Besides his wife Mr. Rurak is survived by two sons, Zbigniew T. Rurak and his wife, Elizabeth of London, England, Tadeusz H. Rurak and his wife, Jean of Lowell MA; three grandchildren, Mark Rurak and his wife, Katie of Lawrence, MA. Stefan Rurak of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Ania Rurak, a senior at Johns Hopkins University; and two very special great-grandsons, Ryan William and Luke Tadeusz Rurak, both of Lawrence, MA; his sister, Valerie Underwood and her husband, Terrence of Tonawanda, N.Y.; and two nephews and one niece.
He was predeceased by his sister, Emilia Zelwinder.
The Rurak family extends its heartfelt gratitude to the many individuals who took such tender care of Mr. Rurak in his final days especially the staffs of Saints Medical Center and Wingate Healthcare of Lowell.
RURAK Friends may call at DRACUT FUNERAL HOME, 2159 Lakeview Avenue, DRACUT, Monday morning from 10 A.M. to 11:30 A.M. His Funeral Mass will follow and be celebrated at 12 Noon at the Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity in Lowell. Spring interment in Holy Trinity Cemetery, Lowell.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his name to the Dom Polski Memorial Scholarship Fund, 10 Coburn St., Lowell, MA 01850. For online condolences or directions visit www.dracutfuneralhome.com