Henryka Zalewski — 1952-08-10 to 2010-02-06

Henryka Zalewski
Of Carpentersville

Visitation for Henryka Zalewski (nee Tekien) will be held Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010 from 3-9pm at Michaels Funeral Home, 800 S. Roselle Rd. (Between Irving Park and Higgins Road) Schaumburg. Funeral services will begin Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 with 11:00 AM mass at St. Margaret Mary Church in Algonquin, IL then proceed on to the interment at St. Michael the Archangel Cemetery, Palatine.

Henryka, 57, was born August 10th, 1952 in the northeastern part of Poland and passed away February 6th, 2010 at 7:25 PM at Sherman Hospital, Elgin following her two year battle with cancer.

She was the daughter of Eugeniusz and Honorata Tekien (nee-Skutnik). She was the youngest child of three with two older brothers, Stanislaw and Jozef. Since a very young age she was passionate about education and always received top-marks throughout her academic career. Once she completed her post secondary education, she was accepted to and attended the prestigious Medical Academy in Bialystok, Poland. Throughout her entire life, she has had a close relationship with God. She attended Catholic mass every Sunday, which led her to meet the love of her life, Daniel Zalewski, who had been an organ player at the Fara Cathedral Catholic church in Bialystok Poland. They were married at 22 and had two children, Aneta and Daniel while still living in Bialystok.

In March of 1980, her husband Daniel came to United States. She joined him in July of 1988 and had two more children, Angelika and Laura. The older children joined them in United States in 1992 in Streamwood, IL. The family moved to Lake in the Hills in 1996 and became parishioners at St. Margaret Mary Church in Algonquin, IL. Once the older children married, the family moved the last time and settled in Carpentersville, IL.

Henryka, also known as “Henia”, “Halinka”, “Bielka” was very intelligent. She was very passionate about many things but most particularly medicine. She taught herself English and was very fluent. She took great pride in her work ethic. She brought the same dedication to her family and maintained an immaculate home and provided a safe and comfortable place for her children to thrive in. She put her heart fully into everything she did.

She was a faithful believer and devout Roman Catholic and attended Polish mass at St. Margaret Mary church in Algonquin, IL for many years.

She loved the United States and was always proud of being Polish. She was sworn in as a United States citizen in 2004.
She was a strong and proud woman who was never without an opinion on any given subject and believed strongly in public welfare, fairness and equality. She had a quick wit, and although sometimes her sense of humor was too subtle for the rest of us, she always had a bit of a wry smile behind any pointed observation she made.

She was a great wife, mother, friend, companion and advocate for anyone in need. She was always someone who can be counted on. She helped many people throughout her life in many different ways. She will be greatly missed and loved by all who had an opportunity to know her.

She is survived by her husband, Daniel Zalewski, of Carpentersville; four daughters, Aneta Hall of Crystal Lake, Angelika and Laura Zalewski of Loyola University; son Daniel Zalewski of Cary, IL; and granddaughter Penelope Hall.

For information please call 847-891-2900 or visit www.michaelsfh.com