Krystyna Alicja Gzowska Celichowska

Stonington - Krystyna Alicja Gzowska Celichowska (1930-2020) was born and raised in Warsaw, Poland. She and her family remained in Warsaw for the majority of World War II - from the initial bombing of the city, Sept. 1, 1939, through the occupation and the Warsaw Uprising of August, 1944. Her mother was a member of the underground Armia Krajowa (Home Army), and Krystyna was frequently active as a young courier for the underground Scout Patrol. During the Warsaw Uprising, their house and the entire Wola District was bombed and burned to the ground, and tens of thousands of civilians executed. Krystyna and her family survived but were eventually captured and sent through several labor and concentration camps, finally ending at a Labor Camp in Triberg, Germany. On April 24, 1945, their area of Germany was liberated by the French Army and they remained in the French Zone of Occupation in Germany over the next few years. Krystyna went on to complete her Lyceum degree and attend art school in Freiberg.

In the fall of 1949, she emigrated by herself to the United States. She first worked in New York City before continuing her college studies and joining her parents in Baltimore, Md. In Baltimore, she worked as a medical illustrator for Dr. Horsley Gantt at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and was an active member of the Polish National Alliance, teaching and promoting Polish culture, art and dance. In 1955, she married Major Stefan Skalski Celichowski, and settled in the Hartford area, where they raised their three daughters. For the past 35 years, Krystyna was a happy member of the Stonington community.

Throughout her life, Krystyna was first and foremost an artist, whose tremendous talent and keen aesthetic eye transformed even the most modest project into a visual poem. She leaves behind a body of work that includes award-winning paintings, watercolors, pen and ink illustrations, sculptures, folk artworks, theatrical and fashion designs and countless creative projects. She was a longtime member of the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, a two-time president of the Glastonbury Art Guild, a graphic designer for the Glastonbury Citizen and a frequent illustrator for the Stonington Garden Club. Always ready for a witty conversation and bit of mischief, her adventures included playing the famous Wurttemberg organ for Bishop Józef Gawlina, starting an elementary school for displaced children at age 15, designing and decorating the Polish national Christmas tree for the White House Pageant of Peace and creating the illustrations for the Glastonbury Historical Society bicentennial exhibition - not to mention creating life-size papier-mâché statues of The Beatles, Frederic Chopin, a mermaid and assorted jungle creatures.

Krystyna's surviving family members include Ewa and John Ojarovsky of Weston, Misia and Charles Dudley of Redding, Renata Celichowska Oliver and Charles Oliver of Lexington, Mass.; and her four grandchildren, Alexandra, Stefan, Isabel and Casimir.

A memorial will be held at a later date in Stonington, when we are able to come together in person to celebrate her life in true Krystyna fashion. "Carpe diem."