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There is a season
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
To everything
There is a season
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Joan Pawlukiewicz, a member of the Polish Falcons, Nest 79 Southgate, Vice-President and Legion of Honor representative for our District. I was an officer of the Nest for 20 or so years under Helen’s presidency and worked closely with her.
Now her story begins….
Helen was a teenager when she moved from Pennsylvania with her parents and 2 of her 7 siblings to Michigan back in the 1940’s.
She met and married Edmund in 1949 and celebrated 62 years together. She became a wife, mother of three Kathlyn, Michele and James and eventually grandmother of four – Michael, Andrew, Gabriel and Giselle. She was also an aunt, mother-in-law and friend to many.
Helen was a very busy lady…….. She was one of the early founding members of the National Catholic Preschool Association, founded and headquartered in Allen Park. Before this organization was formed, there were no Sunday preschool classes at any Catholic Church. It was a volunteer lay organization founded in the late 1950s. It eventually grew to encompass the Detroit Archdiocese and then expanded to the national level. The organization had branches throughout the U.S., Canada, and in several foreign countries. She taught preschool classes there after this organization was formed. She assisted with the organization of the pre-school Sunday school class at St. Francis Cabrini in Allen Park as well as teaching the religious education classes at that parish.
She attended Mercy College in the 1960s, and was only one semester shy of her degree in early education. That semester would have required her to student teach in a public school; however, she opted to become a substitute teacher St. Francis Cabrini as her children attended classes there.
She belonged to the parish’s Christian Mothers group as well as membership in numerous Polish American organizations and activities. Helen was involved in several fundraising efforts on behalf of the Orchard Lake Schools, including the Ladies Auxiliary’s annual Ladies Day Gala which she chaired for two years and was a long-time member of that committee. She was named as ‘Woman of the Year” at a banquet in her honor in 2002. She along with Ed was perpetual members of the Orchard Lake Ambassadors for the benefit of the Schools’ endowment fund. She was President of the Polish Activities League and her involvement and dedication earned her the title of “Sweetheart of the Year” at a banquet in her honor. As President of the Polish /Activities League, she was instrumental I n the disbursement of their remaining funds to the Polish Falcons and Orchard Lake Schools for scholarships for future generations. She also served as Representative of the Falcons on the National Board of the Polish American Congress and was a member of the Congress’ Michigan Division. Helen also was involved with the fundraising efforts for the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center and for orphans of Poland.
There may be more activities and organizations that she was involved with but these were just a few.
Her passion and dedication was with the Polish Falcons organization. Her involvement with the Falcons had surpassed anyone’s expectations as to the meaning of a true Falcon. She held numerous offices in Nest 799 which once was the ladies nest including vice-president. When some of the women of that nest joined Nest 79, originally an all men’s nest, she did so as well. At Nest 79 she was elected Vice-President under Steve Jaroski and succeeded him as President in 1972. She held that position for 33 years before deciding to slow it down a bit in 2005. Again, a banquet was held in her honor at the nest for her years of service and dedication.
On the District level, she was chairperson of the District XIII Legion of Honor Circle’s Annual Memorial Mass and Dinner. Get well wishes to members also was a duty she had undertaken as the Sun Shine representative of the District. She served as the District XIII Representative to the National Board from 1974 to 1996 for a total of 22 years under four National Presidents. She received the Falcons’ highest award, the “Gold Legion of Honor”, on November 10, 1984 in recognition of her service.
In her leisure time, she bowled on the Falcon bi-weekly league and participated in 30 or more Falcon National Bowling tournaments. She was a 1st place finisher in the doubles division in 1982 in South Bend, IN. Only I would remember that as I happened to be her doubles partner.
When taking a nest office back in the early 1970’s, she was dubbed the leader of the “Pierogi Girls”, teaching her knowledge and skills to the ladies in the proper way to prepare this favor Polish delicacy. This menu item led to the many years of the Friday fish fry that brought may diners to the Nest on Junction for a “good Polish meal”. Even though the fish fry had ceased when the nest relocated to Southgate, the pierogi making continued. Her and her crew, ladies and men, worked long and hard to create enough pierogi for nest events at the club, but also for church groups for their festivals. Word seemed to travel fast about Helen and her crew as they provided pierogi for Christmas Wigilia dinners as well as other holidays. She’s probably working diligently now to gather the group together again to teach the angels how to pinch and fork the pierogi correctly.
In 2005, as well as many years prior, Helen had always been a presence with the many generations of Falcon members. Events such as the men’s national softball tournament, bowling tournament and youth track meets, she was there in the stands cheering on the young second (and third) generation Nest 79 members, whether it be a first place or last place finish. As a host for some of these events, one could find her heading up the kitchen staff or offering moral support to those who were just beginning their Falcon involvement. Her presence was also made at various awards banquets, social gatherings, and functions held through the district and the country.
She facilitated the involvement of younger members in nest and district events including meetings, sporting events, Falcon ritual and traditions of the Polish culture. It was the same sight many nest and district members had seen from their younger days participating in National Zlots to the present day adult events.
As you can see, Helen had a difficult time saying “no” when asked to help with a project, organize or host an event, cook or bake desserts. We were all very lucky to have had her in our lives and as much as she will be missed by us all, she will remain with us all, every day, as long as we can remember.
We all know she led a faithful and exemplary life as a wife, a mother and as a loyal member of our group in the organization. Her memory will remain with many of us for a long time to come.
Today, we bid her farewell, and pray that God rewards her with eternal peace for her years of toil and faithful service. May her family be comforted to know that the Lord does not take life away from the faithful; He only changes it, for He has prepared an eternal dwelling for her with Himself.
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her
Or you can be full of the love that you shared
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday
You can remember her and only that she is gone
Or you can do what she would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
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