Veronica Mary West (Kolarik)

WEST (KOLARIK), Veronica Mary – Of Burton, formerly of Flint and Flushing, age 93, died Tuesday, December 19, 2017 at Lockwood of Burton. 

Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Wednesday, December 27, 2017 at St. Mary Catholic Church, 2500 North Franklin Avenue, Flint, Father Francis Faraci officiating. 

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Mary Catholic Church in Flint.

Visitation 1-4 and 5-8 p.m. Tuesday, December 26, 2017 at the Swartz Funeral Home, 1225 West Hill Road. A Rosary will be prayed at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. 

Mrs. West will be at the church from 10 a.m. Wednesday until the time of the Mass. 

Veronica was born on the William Kolarik farm in Gills Pier, Michigan, just outside of Suttons Bay, Michigan on February 28, 1924, to William and Mary Kolarik. She was their third child. The death of her two older brothers in a tragic accident left her the oldest of the eight children of William and Mary. She spoke Bohemian (Czech) until she started school. 

She attended a one room school house known as Houdek School. She and a cousin comprised the last eighth grade graduating class in 1938.She then attended Lake Leelanau St. Mary’s graduating as salutatorian and Class President in 1942. Veronica became a cadet nurse in 1943 and attended Mercy Central School of Nursing in Grand Rapids, Michigan, graduating in 1946 as an R.N. She worked at Munson Hospital in Traverse City after graduation. She won an automobile at the Traverse City Cherry Festival in 1948. 

She first met her spouse, John H. West Sr. in 1947 and then married him on June 10, 1950 at St. Wenceslaus Church in Gills Pier. They moved to Flint, where John was employed at Buick and purchased a house on Flint’s Eastside shortly afterwards. They were to live there for the next fifty years. 

Veronica and John raised eight children, John H., Jr. (Karen), William “Bill”(Mary Ann), Mary Ann (Larry Kincade), Michael (Janis), Moris (Sheri), Theresa (Rob Meister), Ken (Janis) and Margaret. 

Veronica had 19 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. 

Veronica resumed her nursing career in Flint at St. Joseph Hospital in 1950 as a private duty nurse and then as a fulltime hospital employee. She was “Mrs. West of Two West” for much of her career. She retired in 1989, just before St. Joseph closed its doors in Flint and moved to the new Genesys facility near Grand Blanc. 

After retirement Veronica traveled to Europe and California with John. She also enjoyed quilting and genealogy and working in the soup kitchen at St. Mary’s. The couple moved to Flushing in 2000. Her husband, John passed away in 2014, and shortly thereafter Veronica moved to Lockwood of Burton. 

In addition to her children, she is survived by her brothers, Morris (Dorothy) and Jerome (MaryAnn) Kolarik; sisters, Agnes McWethy, Rita (Jerry) Radecki and Jane (Richard) Beaudry; 

Three brothers, William, Beno and Paul and sister, Emma Couturier preceded her in death.

A special thank you to her caregivers, Balinda and Krysten of Affordable Quality Care, CC Williams and Andrea of Heartland Hospice and Stella, Toni and Jasmine at Lockwood.