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<\/a><\/p>\nWhen Helen, Joseph, and Stephanie settled in Worcester, Massachusetts, they changed their surname to Meleski .\u00a0 Joseph married and had several children, including Harry Meleski<\/a>, about whom I’ve written before .\u00a0 Stephanie never married, as far as I know .\u00a0 In 1960 she wrote a letter to Helen<\/a> in which\u00c2\u00a0Stephanie described which of her belongings she wished to bequeath to Helen.<\/p>\n The letter, translated into English, reads as follows:<\/p>\n The 26th Day of May 1960<\/p>\n Dear Helen:<\/p>\n I leave you all these my Holy pictures and these my clothes, also my little Table, 2 Chairs, a Lamp, 2 Watches, a Radio, 2 Blankets, my dishes, and that which you will find in the Trunk.<\/p>\n I ask from time to time praying to the Lord God for my soul so that the merciful Lord God didn’t give me a long time to suffer in purgatory.<\/p>\n Now I go to my Lord and Maker who created me.<\/p>\n Your sister<\/p>\n Stephania S. Meleski<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n From the tone of Stephanie’s letter, it sounds as if she’s ready to die at any moment .\u00a0 She lived, however, another 13 years after she wrote the letter .\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Stephanie Meleski’s Death Certificate<\/a> shows that she died on January 31, 1973 at the age of 87 years, 11\u00c2\u00a0months, and 28 days.<\/p>\n Stephanie was buried in Notre Dame Cemetery in Worcester, Massachusetts on February 2, 1973 in Section 25-C, Lot 1052, Grave 1 .\u00a0 She purchased two graves and her name is listed in the cemetery records as Mrs. Stephania Meleski,\u00a0but as far as\u00c2\u00a0I know\u00c2\u00a0she was never married.<\/p>\n Grave of Stephanie Meleski – 1973 – Obverse<\/p><\/div>\n SOURCE: Grave of Stephanie Meleski – 1973 – Obverse (Worcester, Worcester Co., Massachusetts, USA); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 24 Jun 2012.<\/p>\n Grave of Stephanie Meleski – 1973 – Reverse<\/p><\/div>\n SOURCE: Grave of Stephanie Meleski – 1973 – Reverse (Worcester, Worcester Co., Massachusetts, USA); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 24 Jun 2012.<\/p>\n Genealogical Trivia<\/strong><\/p>\n Here’s a little genealogical trivia about the change from the Gregorian to the Julian Calendar .\u00a0 The Gregorian Calendar replaced the Julian Calendar in 1582 in order to correct the discrepancy between the date of the Vernal Equinox in the Julian Calendar\u00c2\u00a0and the actual occurrence of the Equinox .\u00a0 Pope Gregory decreed that October 4, 1582 be followed by October 15, 1582 .\u00a0 Many Catholic countries complied, but England and its colonies in America didn’t make the switch until 1752, when Wednesday, September 2, 1752 was followed by Thursday, September 14, 1752 resulting in angry mobs crying “Give us back our 11 days!”<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2006 and 2012 by Stephen J. Danko<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One day in 1973, my grandmother, Helen (Chmielewska) Niedzialkowski, asked if someone could give her a lift .\u00a0 When asked where she needed to go, she said that she needed to clean out an apartment .\u00a0 When asked why she … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n\n
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