Maria STRONSKA

STRONSKA, Maria (nee Zaluska) December 4, 1926 - December 9, 2017 Maria Stronska (nee Zaluska) was a beacon of strength in the Polish Community in Montreal. She will be sorely missed by her son Andrzej and his wife Krysia, sister Helena (Wiktor, predeceased) and cousin Aniela and by the numerous friends of all ages for whom she always had a listening ear, a word of encouragement and a helping hand. As a child she survived her family's deportation to Siberia by the Stalinist regime and forced labour in a prison camp. She endured the hardships of a difficult exile following the Polish Army of General Anders to Uzbekistan where her father died of hunger and disease. She spent her youth in a refugee camp in Uganda with her mother and younger siblings and after the war was reunited in England with her surviving brothers and married Wladyslaw - a Polish Combatant. She lived by example showing us the response to life's difficulties is to love and help others. In Canada her adoptive country she found a place to grow new roots and worked tirelessly to strengthen the Polish Sunday school Stanislaw Konarski where she served as director for thirty five years, the Polish - English Parish of Saint Michael and Saint Anthony where she served for decades in the Parish Committee, and the Polish Canadian Combatants Association. As secretary of the Polish Canadian Congress in Montreal she was in charge of their popular weekly radio program. In her professional life she advanced to the position of Purchasing Agent at RestGlow - the first company she worked for in Montreal. In her last job before retirement she was the Reservations Agent for MacLeanKennedy's Polish ship TSS Batory. In her later life she received numerous awards and was recognized for her contribution to the Polish-Canadian community of Montreal. In retirement her kitchen table became her informal office from where she provided her tireless help to the community. Her telephone rang day and night and she never hesitated to answer giving advice and support when needed. She founded the organization Helping Hand ("Pomocna Dlon") which to this day helps immigrants with referrals and advice. The Polonia in Montreal salutes this small in stature but larger than life woman. May God grant her Eternal Peace and Perpetual Light may shine upon her.