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Sister Natalie Palagyi, SSS
Sister Natalie Palagyi, 91, died January 16, 2001, in Sisters Hospital, Buffalo.
Sister Natalie was born in Budapest, Hungary. She entered the Sisters of Social Service in 1927. During World War II she helped Jews escape Nazi persecution. She also ministered to working women under the Working Girls Movement, a Catholic organization established in Hungary after World War I. In 1950 she traveled to the United States when communists forced her order out of the country. There she joined the sisters' Buffalo community. Sister Natalie was elected to two terms as superior general of her order beginning in 1963. While superior general she assisted sisters who were underground in Eastern Europe and Cuba and helped promote development of the order's United States District of the Sisters of Social Service.
Sister Natalie returned to Europe in 1975 to work for the Hungarian Mission in Weingarten, Germany. When she returned to Buffalo, she spent 20 years as mission coordinator and archivist for both the sisters' generalate and U.S. District. While in the U.S. she also served as mistress of novices, assistant to the superior general, and coordinator of the House of Providence in Syracuse.
In 1999 Sister Natalie's health began to fail and she became a resident of the Infirmary of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Clarence.
Survivors include a sister, Sister Andrea, also a resident of the Sisters of St. Joseph Infirmary, and a brother, John, of Buffalo.
A funeral Mass was celebrated at Blessed Sacrament Church in Buffalo. Burial was in Holy Cross Cemetery in Lackawanna.
Sister Mary Juventia Sipior, CSSF
Sister Mary Juventia Sipior, 97, died January 14, 2001, in Villa Maria Infirmary, Buffalo.
Sister Mary Juventia was born Honorata Sipior to the late Adalbert and Mary Anne (Buczynska) Sipior. She was a graduate of Immaculate Heart of Mary Academy (now Villa Maria), Buffalo, and received a bachelor's degree from Canisius College, Buffalo. She entered the Buffalo Province of the Felician Sisters in 1920 and professed her final vows in 1928.
For 70 years, Sister Mary Juventia ministered in education. She served as a full-time teacher at several schools throughout the dioceses of Buffalo and Syracuse. She also served as principal at St. Hyacinth School, Dunkirk; Queen of All Saints, Buffalo; and St. Michael School, Lackawanna.
In 1977, Sister Mary Juventia taught part-time at Holy Spirit School in North Collins. She later assisted as a library aide at St. Stanislaus School in Buffalo and taught religious education for the parish.
In 1992 she became a member of the Provincial House of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Convent and later moved to the St. Francis Residence. In 1999 she became a patient in Villa Maria Infirmary.
Survivors include a brother, Alphonse, and several nieces and nephews.
A funeral Mass was celebrated in Villa Maria Convent Chapel, Buffalo. Interment followed in St. Stanislaus Cemetery.
Sister Mary Charles Szymanski, CSSF
Sister Mary Charles Szymanski, 98, died January 12, 2001, in Villa Maria Infirmary in Buffalo.Sister Mary Charles was born Bronislava Szymanski to the late Andrew and Michaeline (Fryczynska) Szymanski. She entered the Buffalo Province of the Felician Sisters in 1923 and professed her final vows in 1931. After graduating from Immaculate Heart of Mary Academy (now Villa Maria Academy), Buffalo, Sister Mary Charles attended Canisius College, where she received both bachelor's and master's degrees. She also received a certificate in library science from Geneseo State College.
For 22 years Sister Mary Charles ministered as a full-time elementary school teacher throughout the dioceses of Buffalo and Syracuse. She also served at the former Immaculate Heart of Mary Home for Children in Cheektowaga and spent 13 years teaching at Villa Maria Academy and Bishop Colton High School, both in Buffalo.
Sister Mary Charles began ministering as a librarian and audiovisual media director at Villa Maria College, Buffalo, in 1966. She later served as librarian at Villa Maria Convent for 16 years. In 1981 she moved to St. Francis Residence and became a patient in Villa Maria Infirmary in 1997.
Survivors include a sister, Florence Kuczkowski of Cheektowaga, and several nieces and nephews.
A funeral Mass was celebrated in Villa Maria Convent Chapel. Interment was in St. Stanislaus Cemetery in Cheektowaga.
Sister Mary Virgil Strzempka, CSSF
Sister Mary Virgil Strzempka, 90, died January 7, 2001, in Villa Maria Infirmary, Cheektowaga.
Sister Mary Virgil was born Genevieve Strzempka to the late Stanley and Stella (Beresniewicz) Strzempka. She entered the Buffalo Province of the Felician Sisters in 1929 and professed her final vows in 1937. Sister Mary Virgil graduated from the Immaculate Heart of Mary Academy (now Villa Maria Academy) in Buffalo. She earned a bachelor's degree from Mount St. Joseph Teachers College (now Medaille) in Buffalo. She also received a library science certificate at Villa Maria College, Buffalo.
Sister Mary Virgil began serving as a teacher at SS. Peter and Paul School, Depew, and later assisted with the publication of “Ave Maria,” a periodical honoring Mary that is printed by the Felician Sisters. Thirty-five years were spent ministering at the former Immaculate Heart of Mary Home for Children in Cheektowaga, where she cared for groups of girls for 16 years and served in the office for 19 years. Sister Mary Virgil also served as a secretarial services aide at Villa Maria Convent in Buffalo, Cantalician Center for Learning, Buffalo, and Southtowns Catholic School, Lakeview. In 1990 she assisted as a part-time office aide at Villa Maria College and in several other capacities at the Villa Maria complex until 1996. She then became a patient in Villa Maria Infirmary.
A funeral Mass was celebrated at the Villa Maria Convent Chapel in Buffalo. Interment was in St. Stanislaus Cemetery, Cheektowaga.
Father Walter L. Tomiak
Father Walter L. Tomiak, 86, died January 7, 2001, at Sisters Hospital, Buffalo.
Father Tomiak was born in Buffalo in 1913 to the late Walter and Cecelia Tomiak. He attended St. Florian School, Public School #42, Hutchinson Technical High School, and East High School, all in Buffalo; Canisius College, Buffalo; and St. Bonaventure University. In 1940 he entered Christ the King Seminary at St. Bonaventure and was later ordained at St. Joseph Cathedral by Bishop John A. Duffy. Father Tomiak celebrated his first Mass at St. Valentine Parish, South Buffalo.
Father Tomiak ministered in the missionary apostolate in Cherry Creek; as assistant pastor at Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, St. Luke, St. Valentine, Queen of Peace, Assumption, Transfiguration, and St. Stanislaus parishes, all in Buffalo; as chaplain, Deaconess Hospital, Buffalo, Erie County Home and Infirmary, and Erie County Penitentiary, Alden; as pastor, St. Mary Parish, Pavilion, and priest in residence at St. Mary Parish, Medina. He retired in 1977 to St. Elizabeth Home in Lancaster.
Father Tomiak was a member of the Knights of Columbus.
A funeral Mass was celebrated by Bishop Henry Mansell at Assumption Parish, Buffalo. Burial was in St. Stanislaus Cemetery, Cheektowaga.
Sister Joan Maxwell, SSJ
Sister Joan Maxwell, formerly Sister John Marie, died January 4, 2001, at the Sisters of St. Joseph Clarence Residence.
Sister Joan was born to the late Dr. John Maxwell, DDS, and Elizabeth (Dwyer) Maxwell. She was a graduate of Mount St. Joseph Academy and Mount St. Joseph Teachers College (now Medaille), both in Buffalo. In 1947 she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph and made her first profession of vows in 1949.
She ministered as an elementary school teacher at several schools throughout the Diocese of Buffalo, including St. Joseph in Fredonia, St. Aloysius in Cheektowaga, and St. John the Baptist in Alden.
In 1970, Sister Joan began service on the Clarence Residence staff to which she later retired.
Survivors include a sister, Margaret Maxwell of Snyder.
A funeral Mass was celebrated in the Sisters of St. Joseph Clarence Residence. Burial followed in the Mount St. Joseph section of Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo.
Sister Mary Celeste Kalinowski, CSSF
Sister Mary Celeste Kalinowski, died January 1, 2001, in Villa Maria Infirmary, Buffalo.
Sister Mary Celeste was born Frances Kalinowski to the late Ignatius and Rose (Bazydlo) Kalinowski. She was a graduate of Immaculate Heart of Mary Academy (now Villa Maria Academy), Buffalo. In 1928, she entered the Buffalo Province of the Felician Sisters and professed her final vows in 1936.
For 34 years, Sister Mary Celeste served as a full-time teacher. She spent 14 years teaching at several Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Buffalo and 18 years in the Diocese of Syracuse. She served as a religious education teacher in the dioceses of Syracuse, Ogdensburg, Buffalo, and St. Catharines, Ontario. She also served in day care in Perry, Buffalo, and Toronto, Ontario. In 1984 Sister Mary Celeste began a 12 year ministry as a school aide in Syracuse.
Sister Mary Celeste became a member of St. Francis Residence in 1996 and later a patient in Villa Maria Infirmary.
A funeral Mass was celebrated in Villa Maria Convent Chapel. Burial followed in St. Stanislaus Cemetery, Cheektowaga.
