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Obituaries

Paid family tribute

Teresa Szeptycki, 81, of Charlottesville,Virginia, died on April 12, 2011, in Charlottesville.
Born on November 23, 1929, in Lwow, Poland, she was the daughter of Teresa and Franciszek Raciborski. She was preceded in death by her daughter Katherine (Kasia) Szeptycki, her husband Pawel Szeptycki, and her brother Alexander Raciborski.
Mrs. Szeptycki’s early childhood was spent at the Raciborski home near Lwow, where her parents owned and raised Arabian horses. On April 13, 1940, she, her mother, and her brothers were deported by the Soviets to Siberia. After two years of captivity, her family made its way to what was then British-controlled Palestine. She eventually was educated and trained as a nurse in England. In the late 1950’s, she helped open a heart surgery unit in South Africa and it was there that she met and married her husband, Pawel Szeptycki. In 1962 they immigrated to Lawrence, Kansas, where Dr. Szeptycki became a professor of mathematics, Mrs. Szeptycki worked as a nurse, and they raised their three children. She grieved the death of her beloved daughter, Kasia, and lived in faith that they would be reunited. As a nurse, she cared for the very ill, the elderly, and the dying, and after she retired she continued to volunteer as a hospice nurse. Mrs. Szeptycki loved to travel, frequently visiting friends and family in England, France, Italy, and Poland. She also loved horses, music, playing bridge, reading, a good argument, her daily cup of espresso, good food, and a glass of wine. Above all, she loved her children and grandchildren.
Survived by her sons Leon Francis Szeptycki, of Charlottesville, and Paul Jan Szeptycki, of Toronto, Canada, her daughter-in-laws Elizabeth Magill of Charlottesville and Jennifer Schaffer of Toronto, her grandchildren Alexander and Claire of Charlottesville, and Hannah and Emmanuel of Toronto. She is also survived by her brother, Jerzy Raciborski of Exmouth, England.
The family would like to thank the staff of Rosewood Village for their loving and tireless care of Mrs. Szeptycki during the final weeks of her life.
A funeral mass will be held at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 401 Alderman Road, Charlottesville, at 10:00 am on the morning of Friday, April 15, 2011. Mrs. Szeptycki’s ashes will be interred in Lawrence, Kansas, next to the remains of her husband and daughter.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made in Mrs. Szeptycki’s name to Hospice Care in Douglas County, 200 Maine Street, Suite C, Lawrence, KS 66044.
Friends may send condolences to the family at www.hillandwood.com.

This information was provided to the Journal-World as a paid tribute.