Anna Laskowski

Mass of Christian Burial for Anna Mary Laskowski, 92, Lawrence, Ks. will be 10 a.m.,
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009 at All Saints at St Joseph/St. Benedict Catholic Church at Mill and Vermont St.  in Kansas City, KS.  Burial will follow in Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Kansas City, KS. A Rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27 at Warren-McElwain Mortuary, Lawrence, KS. A visitation will be held at 9 a.m. until the service at the Church on Wednesday. Mrs. Laskowski died Friday, October 23, 2009 at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Lawrence.

Anna Mary Laskowski was born on August 20, 1917 in Wichita, KS, the daughter of Frank and Antonina Paduch.  The family shortly thereafter moved to Kansas City, KS, where they became members of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, a church built by that Polish-American community.  Anna attended St. Joseph’s Grade School and Central Junior High School.
Though wanting to continue her education, the Depression years deemed it necessary that she gain employment instead.

Anna continued her close ties to the Church as an active member of the Young Ladies Sodality, serving as president at one time.  Life centered on family, work, and church activities.  This all abruptly changed when she married Charles Joseph Laskowski, a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, on June 16, 1941 in Kansas City, KS.  The couple was assigned to military Bases in New Jersey and North Carolina, as well as various assignments in California and Hawaii.  During World War II and the Korean War, she was called upon to be a single parent while her husband was off to war.  As the head of the household she was imaginatively resourceful, fiercely protective, and a guiding beacon while raising the family.

She was also a member of “The Greatest Generation” and her life embodied the values of that very generation that made this country so great.

Upon Charles’ retirement in 1959, the couple settled in Lawrence.  Weekly trips to Kansas City were scheduled to help their widowed mothers, all while Anna and Charles put their five children through Kansas University.  Education was always of great importance in raising their children.  Anna’s life was always based on her strong religious faith.  After Charles retired from the KU Police Department in 1979, the couple attended Daily Mass until health problems would not allow.  Her faith was the basis of the exemplary life she lived. Charles
preceded her in death on January 14, 2009.

Anna was a source of strength and inspiration to her family.  Charles was lost whenever they were apart.  Her children and grandchildren looked to her whenever in need.  Family games were a daily part of her life.  Grandchildren learned to count through games of UNO; she could easily beat all of her college-educated children at games of Scrabble.  Her love of God and her family never ceased.

The family extends a special thanks to Dr. Richard Sosinski and Karen and Christi, RNs for the compassionate and exceptional medical care they provided our Mom over the years.  They played a substantial role in her living a long, full, and wonderful life

Survivors include three daughters, Barbara Kosalka, Huntington Beach, CA, Carol Jensen,  Jacksonville, NC,  and Joann Gelvin, Lawrence, KS; two sons, Michael Laskowski and Charles Laskowski, both of Lawrence, KS; one brother, Joseph Paduch, Kansas City, KS, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild. She was preceded in death by her brother, John Paduch.

                               WE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU MOM!

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                                                   Subject: Laskowski