Anna A. Pietruszka Obituary (1928 - 2017)

Anna Antoinette Pietruszka (nee Paszko), 88, of Normal, Illinois, passed away on July 3, 2017. Anna is survived by her daughter, Laurie Heggie, son-in-law, Michael Heggie, and granddaughter, Alianna Heggie, all of Normal; and her sisters, Sr. Maria Paszko of Chicago and Amelia Muskett of England. She is also survived by her nieces and nephews living in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Arizona, England and Spain. Her funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 8, 2017 at Epiphany Catholic Church, Normal, with Rev. Eric S. Powell officiating. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Normal. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Friday, July 7, 2017 at Carmody-Flynn Funeral Home, Bloomington, where the rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Additional visitation will be for one hour prior the service at the church. Anna was born near Lwow, Poland on October 27, 1928. Due to the invasion of Poland during WWII, Anna and her sister left Poland and traveled through several countries to escape the fighting, all the while attending grade school and high school. The longest stay was at Colonia Santa Rosa Polish Childrens Camp in Mexico. From there Anna and her sister immigrated to the United States, chose Chicago, Illinois as their new home, and became citizens. There are several books written chronicling the journey of her group of displaced Polish children. On June 6, 1953 Anna married Joseph J. Pietruszka in Chicago. They were married for fifty years before Josephs death on January 16, 2004. Annas first jobs were with Zenith and Sunbeam in Chicago. For 25 years, she worked as a salad chef at Marshall Fields in Calumet City. In 2000, Anna and Joseph moved to Normal to be closer to their daughter Laurie. Anna worked at Target in Normal for a few years before her retirement in 2003. She thoroughly enjoyed being a grandma and spending time with her granddaughter. She passed down her love of Polish cooking, including Pierogi, golabki and Kolachki to her daughter Laurie and granddaughter Alianna. Anna was a member of Epiphany Catholic Church, Normal. She had many friends that she kept in touch with for years, especially the ladies that worked with her at Marshall Fields. Anna was preceded in death by her parents, Piotr and Maria Paszko and her husband, Joseph J. Pietruszka. In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to Laurie or Michael Heggie for college savings for her granddaughter, Alianna. Alianna was her pride and joy!rnThe family of Anna A. Pietruszka wishes to thank Dr. Kumar and the staff at Illinois Cancer Care in Bloomington, and OSF Hospice for the care and compassion shown to Anna during her fight with breast cancer. She was especially fond of Gary, the volunteer at Illinois Cancer Care, who could always make her smile. Anna was a loving wife, mother and grandma, and she continually defied all odds until God called her home.