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In memory of
Maria Lozykowski
November 26, 1947 - February 12, 2020
Nov 26, 1947 - Feb 12, 2020
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Maria's obituary
Maria was a graduate of Liceum Ogólnokształcące Marii Konopnickiej (1965), The Medical College of Electro-radiology (1967), and the Academy of Medicine, Gdansk (MD, 1973). Maria practiced medicine as an internist for 8 years, and especially loved working with children. In the spring of 1981, she along with her husband, Henry, were blessed with their only child, Matt.
Soon after her son's birth, Martial Law was declared in Poland, and the authoritarian communist government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted normal life in an attempt to crush political opposition. Fearing persecution and hoping to wait out the unrest in Poland while abroad, in the middle of winter 1981, Maria left Poland with her husband and infant son and fled to the United States where her husband had arranged for a temporary visiting professor position at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
With the visiting professor position contract term about to end, and with the situation in Poland still very precarious, Maria and her husband made the difficult decision to stay in America and ultimately become citizens. In doing so, they literally gave up their apartment, all of their possessions, and all of their family back home in Poland to start a new life from scratch. Maria's husband began to look for permanent employment, and was offered a teaching position at Ohio University. In the winter of 1984 the Lozykowski family packed up their few belongings in a small U-Haul trailer, pulled by an aging Buick, and drove across the country to begin to build their new life in Athens, OH.
In Athens, Maria ultimately made the difficult decision to sacrifice her own career to focus on raising her son, supporting her husband as he worked toward attaining tenure, and building a stable and loving home for her family. She eventually went back to work, starting a new career in biological and medical research at Ohio University, ultimately attaining the position of research scientist at the Edison Biotechnology Institute, before retiring in 2013.
All throughout her years in Athens, Maria always put her family first, and was a dedicated mother and wife, the indispensable and irreplaceable matriarch of the Lozykowski family. Her work ethic, attention to detail and practicality were unparalleled, always putting 110% into whatever task she was doing. In her spare time, she loved to entertain close friends with lavish dinner parties, serving traditional Polish cuisine. She was especially known for her baking skills, and her tortes were the thing of legend, always a favorite of guests around the holidays. She was also an avid reader and moviegoer, and could often be found supporting small independent films at the Athena on a Sunday afternoon. She is survived by her husband, Henryk (Henry) Lozykowski; one son, Matt Lozykowski of Cleveland Heights, OH; and one brother, Leopold Polacki of Torun, Poland, and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, February 22nd, at 1pm at St. Paul’s Church in Athens with Father Donald Horak officiating. A reception will immediately follow the mass where guests are encouraged to join family members, close friends, and acquaintances in remembering Maria and what she meant to all of us. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (https://everloved.com/life-of…) Friends and family may leave a message of sympathy or share a memory at the following memorial website: https://everloved.com/life-of… . .
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In lieu of flowers
Please consider a gift to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
$1,845.00
Raised by 15 people
Recent contributions
Recent contributions
In lieu of flowers
Please consider a gift to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
$1,845.00
Raised by 15 people
Recent contributions
Recent contributions
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Matt Lozykowski.
