Helen Wyszpolski Skowronek, daughter of Frank Wyszpolski and Mary Sroka Wyszpolski, was born in Brooklyn, NY on January 29, 1921 and died on June 14, 2012.
She was a graduate of New York University (1942) in Biology and Chemistry. She worked on a malaria research project for the U. S. Government (1942-46) at Goldwater Memorial Hospital; did soil analysis at NC State in Raleigh (1946-47); and worked in hematology research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Research Center in New York City (1947-49). Subsequently she received her teaching certification, and taught in Tenafly N.J., Rifle CO., Rolling Hills Estates CA., and Naperville IL. She also taught in a school sponsored by the U.S. Information Service in Medan, Indonesia. For Helen, education was a life-long endeavor, reading non-fiction to the end.
With her husband, she lived in Raleigh NC, New York City, Tenafly NJ, Rifle CO, Rolling Hills Estates, CA, Naperville IL, Medan Sumatra (Indonesia), Norway (Bergen, Oslo, and Stavanger), Beaumont TX, Lawrenceville NJ, and settled in Hendersonville NC in 2003.
She was devoted to her children, played piano, taught Sunday school, loved ballroom dancing, was an avid knitter, crocheter, and tatter, and enjoyed a variety of crafts such as pottery, batik, Chinese painting, spinning and weaving, etc. While living in Norway she took advantage of the opportunity to visit many museums and learn the local culture. She went camping with the family in the western US, visiting National Parks and Monuments. She was a member of the WNC Polish American Club and the American Legion Auxiliary.
She was predeceased by her infant sister Wanda, her parents, nephew Randall Wyszpolski, brother Eugene F. Wyszpolski, and her husband of nearly 63 years, Lester, who died on January 1, 2009. She is survived by her three children: son L. Geoffrey Skowronek (Marianne) of Oregon, daughter Captain Leslie Jeanne Skowronek of Hendersonville (NC), and son Russell K. Skowronek, PhD and his wife Margaret A. Graham, PhD of Texas. She also leaves behind two grandchildren, Stephan Alexander Skowronek (Lisa) of Oregon and Elizabeth Olga Skowronek of Texas; two great-grandsons, Tyler Andrew Skowronek and Ethan Zachary Skowronek of Oregon; a sister-in-law Nina; nephews E. Frank Wyszpolski and Jon Jay Wyszpolski (Christine) (and their sons Jaden and Soren) of California; and numerous cousins.
Burial will be in Green Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY.
In lieu of flowers, please make any donations to Four Seasons Compassion for Life, 571 South Allen Road, Flat Rock NC 28731, or a charity of your choice in her name.