Obituary of Marianna Helena Kluzniak

Marianna Helena Kluzniak passed away of natural causes in Santa Cruz on January 21, 2016, three days shy of her 97th birthday. A native of Gluchow, Poland, Marianna was born into a peasant family, living on a rural farm. After a few years in school she began working as a house and farm hand due to hard times, learning the value of a hard day's work at a young age. When World War II broke out, she was forced to work on a farm in Germany. She escaped and was soon arrested by the German security forces. After her release, she made the long journey back to Poland, mostly on foot. She once recalled a story of walking along a country road littered with the bodies of the victims of war, when she heard a cow wailing in a barn. When she ran to see if she could help the poor animal, a bullet whizzed past her head- a stark reminder of the reality of growing up in the shadow of war. Shortly thereafter, she was married briefly to Koprowski, but soon became a widow, working in textile mills in Lodz, then occupied by the Communist Russians. She met and married Antoni Kluzniak in 1952 and had two children, Wiktor and Teresa. With her sister Cecile's help, she made the long journey to New York City with her two children, arriving in the United States on November 21st 1963. She did janitorial work in Manhattan's skyscrapers at night while raising her two children. She came to Santa Cruz in the mid 1980's and was a live-in housekeeper and caregiver for many elderly couples. Upon retirement she lived at Via Pacifica and then at Garfield Park Village, before her last few years at LaPosada Retirement Community. She was affectionately known as "Babcia" by close friends and family. Marianna was a devout Catholic and attended Holy Cross, St. Joseph's on West Cliff Dr. and Star of the Sea Church. She is survived by her son Wiktor Kluzniak (Sandi), daughter Teresa Kluzniak Anderson (Mark) and three grandchildren Brandon, Marissa and Kaitilyn. She was preceded in death by her parents Piotr Zakolski and Jozefa Jendrzejewska and all her siblings, except a twin sister Gienka, who remains in Poland. Visitation will be held Friday, January 29 from 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at Santa Cruz Memorial Mission Chapel, 1927 Ocean Street Ext. Services will be held Monday, February 1, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 126 High Street, followed by entombment at Santa Cruz Memorial Park, 1927 Ocean Street Ext.