Celebrating
a century of life
By
Susan Brinkmann
CS&T Correspondent
The year Sonia (Wilk) Szymkowski was born, Theodore Roosevelt was president.
The latest inventions included the helicopter and the electric vacuum
cleaner. A loaf of bread cost four cents, and the average annual income
was $1,090. The annual life expectancy for Americans was 48.
Well, the law of averages doesn’t apply to everyone.
Szymkowski celebrated her 100th birthday on Jan. 26 with family and friends
at Collingswood Manor in Collingswood, N.J., where she lives.
“She said many times that she never thought she would live this
long,” said her son, Vincent Szymkowski of Collingswood.
His mother is a true “survivor,” having lived through a burst
gallbladder in the 1940s — when that was usually fatal — and
two bouts with cancer, one of which, in 1962, cost her an eye.
Throughout her long life, she has prayed long and devotedly. And some
who know her best say it been has her faith that has kept her going.
“Sonia always believed in the power of prayer, by reciting the rosary
whenever things weren’t right,” said her son Vince.
Szymkowski (formerly Zofia Wilk) is the oldest of six children born to
Anna and Stanley Wilk. She attended St. Laurentius elementary school,
and graduated from Germantown High School in 1925 before going to work
for the American Engineering Company.
Four years later, she married Vincent Szymkowski. The couple moved to
the Bridesburg section of the city and had two children, Sonia, 75, and
Vincent, 71, before moving again, this time to the Port Richmond section
of the city. The family joined St. Adalbert parish. Sixty-five years later,
Szymkowski is still a parishioner.
For 25 years, she and her husband ran a supermarket in Port Richmond,
and always took pride in being Polish-American. She taught traditional
Polish folk dancing to teens, and one of her fondest memories is of her
dance troupe performing for Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, when he visited St.
Adalberts parish before becoming Pope John Paul II.
“They performed for him personally, and she had a number of pictures
taken with him,” Vince said. “For their 50th wedding anniversary,
they got a citation from the pope, which was written in Polish. It’s
framed and hanging in my house.”
Szymkowski has always been the kind of person who couldn’t sit still
— and she couldn’t stand anyone else sitting still, either.
Recalled Vincent: “After I retired, because I coached rowing and
was very much involved in a lot of activities, one time she said, ‘You’re
very busy during the day but maybe you should get a night job.’”
She practiced what she preached. Over the past century, Szymkowski has
been a member of — and held offices in — the Polish Beneficial
Association, the Union of Polish Women, Our Lady of Fatima, St. Adalbert’s
Senior Citizens Club, the Port Richmond Lions Club, the Pope John Paul
II Cultural Center, and the Frankford Grocery Association. She spent many
hours serving as secretary of St. Adalbert’s Senior Citizens Club,
and she sold life insurance for the Polish Beneficial Association until
she was 91.
“Sonia attributes her longevity to keeping busy, both mentally and
physically,” Vince said. “She also feels that setting strong
goals makes you perform to your fullest.”
Lately, her failing eyesight and hearing have slowed her down —
but she still plays bingo, and participates in other social activities.
And she’s not shy when it comes to the latest technology. If her
eyesight were a little better, she’d like to learn how to use a
computer, Vince said, and she uses his cell phone from time to time to
talk to friends or look at pictures of her latest great grandchild.
The mother of two, grandmother of six and great-grandmother of 10 (an
eleventh is due in April) she marked the the passing of a century surrounded
by family and lifelong friends from St. Adalbert. Msgr. Francis S. Feret,
pastor of St. Adalbert’s presented her with a letter from Cardinal
Justin Rigali in which he extended his congratulations and blessings.
She also received a certificate and a bouquet of flowers from St. Adalbert’s
Senior Citizens.
Her family held an open house to celebrate her birthday Jan. 27, which
was attended by more than 100 people. When the festivities were over,
Szymkowski told her son that everything had gone wonderfully, and he agreed.
“We’re very proud of her.” he said.
Contact Susan Brinkmann at fiat723@aol.com or (215) 965-4615.