Stanislaw Serafin

Stanislaw Serafin (1940 – 2023),

Passionate Gardener with a Heart of Gold

Stanislaw Serafin, 83, of San Antonio, Texas, died in San Antonio at Methodist Hospital from congestive heart failure on Wednesday, November 29th.

He was born in Sulków, Poland in 1940 to Józef and Marianna Serafin as the seventh child of eight (the eighth one passed away at birth). He grew up in a household with two additional children who were adopted from his widowed grandmother. All nine children grew up together and were shaped by World War II and its aftermath.

When Stanislaw was five years old, the family moved across the country from East Poland and settled in the village of Zabin, West Poland. Stanislaw was an active, curious, and compassionate child who wanted to help everyone and juggled schoolwork and supported his family at home and on the family farm. When the village he grew up in did not have medical personnel, Stanislaw took medical courses and obtained certification as a paramedic/nurse. He served as a volunteer nurse for many years in his village, administering vaccines to his family, neighbors, friends, and anyone who needed medical support.

At two-weeks shy of his 25th birthday, Stanislaw married the love-of-his life, Wanda, and was her husband and best friend for 58-and-half years. They had a son, Adam, who was born prematurely and died. They also had two daughters Danuta and Renata.

In 1968, Stanislaw and Wanda moved to the city of Lubin, where Stanislaw worked on the surface of a coal mine factory for 15 years. The couple continued to juggle their parental responsibilities with a special needs child, professional work, and traveled back-and-forth to help their parents on the farm until both of Stanislaw's parents passed away.

During the Solidarity movement in Poland, martial law was declared, and members of the Solidarity movement were pursued by police and military. In fear of persecution, Stanislaw left Poland to Austria in 1983, and remained in a refugee camp for six months. In 1984, he obtained an immigration sponsor in the United States, where with the help of kind friends, he found work at St. Matthew Catholic Church in San Antonio, Texas. After 18 months of living in San Antonio, Stanislaw was successful in sponsoring his wife and daughters to the United States.

At St. Matthew Catholic Church, Stanislaw did maintenance work and was known for his work ethic, going above and beyond what needed to be done. Stanley, as he was referred to by his St. Matthew team, did everything from gardening to sweeping the floors to cleaning the bathrooms, setting up and cleaning after weddings, funerals, and church events, vacuuming, and organizing the hymnals and missalettes in the pews. He also often did some maintenance fixing and plumbing work as needed. The grounds at St. Matthew always looked beautiful thanks to Stanislaw's green thumb and love for flowers and plants. Shovel, hoe, and shears in hand, you could often find him planting shrubs, roses, and other flowers, as well as pruning the flowers, and picking weeds. He cared for St. Matthew's property as if it was his own, and rarely took breaks, except to eat lunch with his wife who also worked at St. Matthew. He remained at St. Matthew for over 21 years until his retirement in 2005.

Stanislaw's own home garden was constantly in bloom thanks to his encyclopedic knowledge and love for flowers and how best to care for his grass, trees, and vegetable garden. A local newspaper columnist remarked in the San Antonio Express-News on the beauty of Stanislaw's garden.

Stanislaw's impact on the world was to appreciate and care for God's Earth as the blessed gift that it is. One day, when Nelson Wolff was a Mayor of San Antonio, he drove by the Serafin's house and stopped by to talk to Stanislaw who was working in the yard. He thanked Stanislaw for beautifying the City of San Antonio with his garden and for caring for the property beyond his fence line that faced Callaghan Road.

Stanislaw knew how to make the most of his skills and talents and how to take care of God's gifts. He loved people and always asked a lot of questions and was interested in learning and getting to know others. Everyone liked talking to Stanislaw and all parishioners at St. Matthew and his neighbors and friends highly respected him and always asked him for gardening advice.

Above all, Stanislaw loved his family and was devoted to his wife of 58 years, Wanda Serafin, and their daughters Danuta and Renata Serafin. He was thrilled to gain a son in Nathan Cone, Renata's husband, and was very proud of and loved spending time with his grandchildren Samantha and Maximilian Cone.

Stanislaw was preceded in death by his son, Adam Serafin, and his parents Marianna and Jósef Serafin. He was also preceded in death by his siblings: brother Jerzy Serafin and Lucian Serafin, as well as sister Maria Wachowska, brother Ryszard Serafin, and sister Kazimiera Makulska.

He is survived by his wife Wanda Serafin and daughters Danuta and Renata Serafin, son-in-law Nathaniel "Nathan" Cone, and grandchildren Samantha and Maximilian Cone. He is also survived by his sister Pola Bachorska (previously Sawiecka) who resides in Poland.

Funeral Mass and Eulogy will be held on Friday, December 15, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. at:

St. Matthew Catholic Church

10703 Wurzbach Rd

San Antonio, TX 78230

Reception to follow at St. Matthew McDonald Family Center Klesse Ballroom, adjacent to the church.