Eleanor Smiarowski

1931 - 2023

ELEANOR SMIAROWSKI

Hatfield, MA - Eleanor Regina (Shuzdak) Smiarowski passed away peacefully on February 19, 2023 after a brief period of declining health at the age of 91. We are heartbroken to lose someone so special. She was a wonderful woman, wife, mother, babci and great babci who will be deeply missed.

Eleanor was born on May 15 1931 in Northampton to Joseph and Catherine (Kowal) Shuzdak. She was a graduate of Hopkins Academy in 1949. In High school she was known for her sweet smile and for being a classy dresser. Even later in life, she loved fashion and was known for wearing the prettiest scarves and carrying lovely pocketbooks. She was a high school cheerleader and sang in the church choir. She met the love of her life, Teddy Smiarowski at the White Eagle Hall in Northampton at a polka dance when she was just 18 years old. The couple later married in 1950 and would settle in Hatfield. That same year they would purchase the Harris farmhouse and 50 acres of land. Over the next many decades, they would raise among other crops asparagus, strawberries and potatoes but most importantly seven children.

Eleanor loved many things in life, the most important of which was family. She was happiest spending time with them and celebrating holidays together. Her grandchildren and great grandchildren brought her great joy. Farming was an integral part of life. In the early years, she worked alongside Teddy. Later in life, she shifted her efforts toward watching her sons operate what the elder couple had created. She enjoyed selling asparagus and strawberries each spring. She would become well known in the valley and beyond. She looked forward to meeting her many customers that later became friends. They came from far and wide to see her just as much as to buy the produce. Many would refer to her as the Strawberry lady and ask for her if she was not tending to her stand. Her favorite berry variety was Jewel. Sunday dinners were her specialty. She cooked large meals, made hundreds of pierogies, golumpkis, and baked dozens of pies for her family of nine.

She loved all things Polish. Teddy and Eleanor danced the polka effortlessly in their younger days. On many weekends they would travel to polka festivals from the Hatfield Barn to Ocean Beach CT. and Three Rivers MA. Polka music could always be heard in the kitchen. She loved to speak Polish and would engage with anyone who shared that pleasure.

Watching basketball was a pastime that made her a fixture in the bleachers across the valley watching her children and then grandchildren play the game. While she loved to watch her family play, she also enjoyed watching college hoops; especially Duke Men's Basketball. Not only did she know the game, but could name the coaches and players better than most. Many mornings she would regale her sons of the previous nights' college games. She was also a big Boston Celtics fan especially during the Larry Bird era. As well as the Boston Red Sox and her all-time favorite player Carl Yastrzemski.

Her faith was very strong. She was a communicant of Our Lady of Grace and the former Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in Hatfield.

She was predeceased by her husband Teddy in 1989, her parents and her brother Leonard Shuzdak. She is survived by her children Irene Merz and her husband John, Eileen Miller, Ted Jr, Bernie and his wife Laura, Ron and his wife Shelley, John and his wife Michelle and James, all of Hatfield. She leaves 11 grandchildren, Kara Szawlowski and her husband Joe, Katelyn Prendergast and her husband Tom, Kiel Miller, Thaddeus III, William, Madeleine, Katherine, Christian, Victoria, Griffin and Nicholas Smiarowski and two great grandchildren Sophie and Joey Szawlowski.

The family would like to thank the staff at Mary's Meadow in Holyoke for their kind and devoted care.

All are invited to calling hours on Friday February 24, 2023 from 4:00 -7:00 pm at the CZELUSNIAK FUNERAL HOME IN NORTHAMPTON. The funeral will be Saturday, February 25, 2023, from the Czelusniak Funeral Home at 9:00 am followed by a Mass at 10:00 pm at Our Lady of Grace Church in Hatfield. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery on Bridge Street in Hatfield. Please go to Czelusniakfuneralhome.com for online condolences and tribute book

In Lieu of Flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Teddy C. Smiarowski Scholarship Fund at Smith Academy or the Dakin Humane Society.