Alina Surmacka Szczesniak

My dad passed away in late 2023, and recently I was going through more of his things. One of his IT security questions was "first boss?" and the answer was Alina Szczesniak, so I had to look it up. He also worked at General Foods his entire career, starting in the early 1960's and retiring in 1995.

I'm sure I met Alina when I was kid; my dad used to bring us to his lab in Tarrytown and show us the machine that would "chew" Cheerios. We also got to eat Pop Rocks years before they came on the market because they were invented in the same lab. Good times. Never realized she was so famous.

Dear Andrew and Family,

Please accept our heartfelt condolences on the passing of your dear mom. Your mom hired me at General Foods for my very first professional position. She was constantly supportive and a great source of strength to me as I began working in the field of food science and food chemistry. She supported my graduate work and followed my advances with her cards and letters over the years. She visited us at our home and introduced our family to the Shrine of Czestochowa at Doylestown, PA.

When our younger daughter travelled to Poznan for her semester abroad in Poland, and when our older daughter was in graduate school at Boston University, your mom continued to support them and followed their achievements with great interest and pride.

We are immensely grateful for every word of kindness and the dear love she offered continuously. May she watch over you and your family each day. As we all look forward to our great reunion with Our Dear Lord, may He hold her close in warmth and love until we all meet again.