Aleksandra Danicki

Aleksandra was born on New Year’s Day in 1931 in Czarnystok, Poland. In 1940 while she was living in Ukraine, Stalin’s troops rounded up her family and deported them to Siberia. When the Russians gave them “amnesty,” the refugees were shuttled from place to place through southern Russia, Asia and the Middle East. Her parents died in Tehran, Iran in 1942. Eventually, she landed in an orphanage camp with her older sister in Tanganyika, East Africa, until the conclusion of WWII. Even though Aleksandra experienced hardship losing her parents and living in a foreign land, she always remembered her five years in Africa very fondly. Aleksandra was sorry that she never made a return trip as an adult. After the war, she settled in Yorkshire, England, where she met her husband, Ludwik. The couple welcomed their first daughter Diane in 1949 before immigrating to the U.S. in the 1950s and settling in the Philadelphia suburbs, where she lived for more than 70 years. Aleksandra worked much of her life in textiles, primarily at Kent Mills in Clifton Heights. She completed her career at GlaxoSmithKline after 15 years. She was an active member of Sacred Heart Church in Clifton Heights, where she loved to sing in the church choir, volunteered in the kitchen for bingo, and was a regular part of the crew making pierogis for the church’s fundraisers well into her 80s. She loved music, gardening, and keeping in touch with friends and family. She loved to speak to younger generations about her amazing life, which she described as “living history.” She was predeceased by her husband Ludwik, daughter Diane, son-in-law Don, sisters Frania and Felicia, and brothers Leon and Stanley. She is survived by her loving daughter Helen and Helen’s husband, Bashkim Kokona. The three of them lived together in Springfield for more than 20 years. They will miss her unique sense of humor and her delicious apple pie. She was one of a kind and a gentle soul. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to The National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa or Save the Children (to help the children in Ukraine). Visitation: Friday, 9:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church, 316 E. Broadway Ave., Clifton Heights. Funeral Mass: Friday, 10:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church Interment: SS. Peter & Paul Cemetery

Aleksandra Danicki

January 1, 1931 - August 19, 2024