Irena Jadwiga Parszewski passed away peacefully in her sleep on November 17, 2009 at Abberfield Aged Care Facility, Sandringham, Victoria, Australia. She was born on February 24, 1923 in Warsaw, Poland. She married Zdzislaw Aleksander Parszewski on February 1, 1949 in Lodz, Poland. She received a Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering from Lodz Polytechnic Institute and was a lifelong teacher. She started teaching at the Pharmacy Department of the Lodz Medical School and completed her teaching career at the Pharmacy School from where she retired in 1980. She moved to Melbourne, Australia and enjoyed her retirement, travelled the world with Zdzislaw and actively participated in downhill skiing in Australia and in the Colorado Rockies. She stayed active and enjoyed an independent life despite advanced macular degeneration until dementia robbed her from the control of her destiny. She was preceded on death by her husband, Zdzislaw Aleksander Parszewski, her parents Kazimierz and Wanda Krajowski-Kukiel, her younger brother, Jerzy, and her older brother who was lost during the World War II Warsaw Uprising in 1945.
She is survived by her son Marek (Mary) Parszewski in New London, Wisconsin, grandson Toby in Oconomowoc, granddaughter Tamara and great-granddaughter Brianna in Appleton, her special dog friend, Callie, and numerous nieces and nephews with families in Poland and United Kingdom as well as her friends in Poland, the United States and in Australia. A prayer ceremony will be held at the Tobin Brothers Chapel, 818 Doncaster Road, Doncaster, Victoria Australia on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 7:00 PM and will be followed by cremation at Springvale Botanical Cemetery on Wednesday, November 25, 2009. Her remains will be transported to Lake View Mausoleum and Memorial Park 2786 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA. A memorial service is scheduled for Monday December 28, 2009 at 12:00 PM in the Lake View Memorial Park Chapel followed by the interment at the Mausoleum. Visitation will be held at the chapel on Tuesday from 11:00 AM until time of services. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Vision Australia www.visionaustralia.org.au. Friends may view the online obituary and send condolences by visiting www.foxcitiesfuneral.com