HOLYOKE
Tadeusz S. Plotnikiewicz, age 84 of Holyoke, peacefully passed away Sunday July 1st. Tadeusz was born in 1934 in Zawalow, Poland. His family survived World War 2 and the Soviet occupation. He left home at the age of 13 to pursue an education in classical music and cultural arts in Lublin. Before obtaining a Master’s Degree in Public Health and Epidemiology he served in the Polish Army as a Medic. His career brought him to become Public Health Director of the Red Cross in Przemysl, Poland where he met and married his wife Leokadia and his first son Darek was born. In 1963 his then young family legally immigrated to the United States where his daughter Ewa, and son Jacek were born. Tadeusz worked in Holyoke Hospital and Noble Hospital than later bought and managed Holyoke Flower Shop. Tadeusz actively enjoyed many hobbies; He was an avid gardener and former groundskeeper to the late William Skinner III. He enjoyed raising white German Shepherds, and was known for his energetic dancing with his wife at Polish Community dances. He sponsored many family members to immigrate to the United States. After closing Holyoke Flower Shop in 1990, he continued to fully pursue his beloved hobbies of gardening, landscaping, and aquaculture at the family’s Connecticut Shoreline home, where he proudly received Gardening Society Awards. He was a longtime communicant of the former Mater Dolorosa Parish. Tad is survived by his wife of 58 years, Leokadia; his children: Darius and wife Rachel, Jacek and wife Lori, and Ewa and fiancé Harry; a brother Walerian; a sister Lucyna Wojtczak and her husband Edward; three grandchildren: Alec, Mark, and Erica; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his beloved parents, a brother Marian, and sisters Jadwiga and Maria. Calling hours will be held at the Barry J. Farrell Funeral Home, 2049 Northampton Street, on Saturday July 7th from 9:00 to 11:00am followed by a Funeral Home Service at 11:00am and burial in Mater Dolorosa Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of ones’ choice.
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