Ewa M. Pankratz

Ewa Pankratz entered this world on August 7, 1957, the first child of Stanislaw and Lucja Andruskiewicz. She was born in Suwalki, Poland, a city located in far northeastern Poland. At an early age, she was active in both social and spiritual groups, often venturing to numerous destinations of interest. These experiences culminated in her deep pride in the culture, history and scenic panorama of her native land. After graduating from high school, she furthered her education at the Catholic Academy of Warsaw – today Cardinal Wyszynski University –, where she received a bachelor's and master's degree in psychology and philosophy. After graduation, she returned to Suwalki, where she served as a clinical psychologist.
One day in 1984, she was vacationing with a group of young ladies in the Carpathian Mountains of southern Poland. It was there in the village of Cisna, as she was walking down a street while enjoying a rapidly melting vanilla ice cream cone, that she encountered an American, a man whose maternal grandparents had lived in this village prior to emigrating and settling in the coal mining district of Eastern Pennsylvania. He asked her if she spoke English, a language he learned she handled impeccably. With Ewa's guidance and translation skills, this stranger was able to meet relatives he never knew existed. Strangers no longer, they married thirteen months later in Ewa's hometown. Shortly after, they settled in Green Bay, where Ewa became a devoted wife, a mother of two sons, and a fantastic cook, specializing in Polish cuisine that illuminated holiday table settings.
An avid reader who filled her home with shelves upon shelves of books, Ewa continued her personal growth to an admirable level, spiritually and culturally. On almost all aspects, she had no myopic perception but rather embraced diversity and love for others and their cultures, having friends in many areas of the globe: Virginia, New York City, Texas, Florida, California, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Kazakhstan and, of course, her native Poland. She was always patient to explain to people, that though her name was spelled E-W-A, it's pronounced Eva.
Ewa was a skilled weaver who never wore a stitch of make-up in her life but had great talent with her Ukrainian egg artistry. She was one of the original founders of the Northeast Wisconsin Polish Heritage Society, serving as its first vice president. Along with her husband, she was an active member of Holy Wisdom Community, which provides any progressive thinker an opportunity for open, unencumbered, religious expression and shared mutual spiritual growth. When Ewa spoke in group situations, she did it with a calm dignity and insight that was magnetic.
Ewa is survived by husband Chuck; son Adam (Jena) Pankratz of Cottage Grove; their children Theo (6) and Lillian (2); son Dan; mother Lucja Andruszkiewicz of Suwalki; brother Krzysztof (Urszula) of Suwalki; sister-in-law Karen (Craig) Dillman of Pinehurst, NC; niece Marta Andruszkiewicz of Dublin, Ireland; nephew Pawel Andruszkiewicz of Tübingen, Germany; niece Lisa Pankratz (Jonathan) Yakel of Madison and their children Nathaniel, Sophia, Oliver and Henry, as well as aunts, uncles and numerous cousins.
She was preceded in death by her father Stanislaw Andruszkiewicz; nephew Piotr Andruszkiewicz of London, England, and brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Dale and Gale Pankratz, of Berlin and more recently Madison, WI, and their daughter Jill.
Family and friends may call to Ryan Funeral Home, 305 N. Tenth Street, De Pere, on Thursday, October 23, 2025, from 4:00PM until 6:00PM. Visitation will continue at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 1305 Lourdes Ave., De Pere, on Friday, October 24, 2025, from 9:00AM until the Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00AM with Fr. James Baraniak O.Praem. officiating. Burial to follow at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, De Pere.
We family members are grateful for the skilled and empathetic care Ewa received from Dr. David Groteluschen at St. Mary's Hospital, its staff, the staff at St. Vincent Hospital, for the incredible care of Dr. Judy Tjoe and her staff at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, and for the encouragement, guidance and care received from the dedicated staff at Unity Hospice. Heartfelt gratitude goes out to our neighbors Peter Goben and Paul and Kathy Kersten who provided aid at critical moments, and to numerous friends who reached out to us with prayers and words of support, to Robin Therese, who cooked numerous meals for us, and again to surgeon, Dr. Judy Tjoe of Appleton, who, days before Ewa's passing, went well beyond the medical norm and drove from Appleton to provide Ewa empathy, encouragement and a special Polish meal: pierogi.