Urszula M Kichner

Born 1926 in Dekacze, Poland to father Jozef Maziec and mother Helenna Jaskiewicz, she was the oldest of 4 sisters and 1 brother living south of Bialystok on a farm. Urszula had a passion for horses especially her Basha. Her father was a Polish soldier having earned the Order of Virtuti Militari, the highest medal bestowed by Poland for military combat service (comparable to the Congressional Medal of Honor in the US). In 1940, due to her father’s service in the Polish Army and actions against the Russians, the Russian military arrested, separated, tortured, and later killed her father and took her family to Siberia (Onega) as prisoners of the state. She survived the imprisonment and made her way south to the Caspian Sea, to Tehran and Karachi and eventually relocated to a refugee camp in Africa in what is now Tanzania near Mount Kilimanjaro/Arusha where she became a nurse. It was in her nursing duties that she met her future husband, Jerzy Kichner, who shared a similar experience.. Having lost her youngest brother while in Siberia, she and her family emigrated to Australia, her future husband, followed her settling in Collie, West Australia. They were married shortly thereafter. In 1953, they moved to the United States and settled in Montville, CT where she lived most of her life while her sisters remained in Australia. Eventually, her mother Helenna came to the US from Australia to help raise Urszula and Jerzy’s growing family.

Urszula was a very kind but very strong and “life smart” person who always put her family first. She was a great cook, a loving mother and someone that provided invaluable insight into life, its rigors and fragility. She continually stressed the importance of education and together with her husband worked multiple jobs to provide educational opportunities for the family. She lived a true Christian life and never displayed anger or animosity toward her captors. She and her husband hosted three generations of Coast Guard Academy Cadets while living in Montville, providing food and a place to get away and decompress on weekends.

In September of 2008, her husband Jerzy passed away at the age of 76.

Urszula is survived by her three children; Jerzy (wife: Dolores), Regina (husband: Dale), and Krystyna (husband: Peter); her grandchildren Jimmy (wife; Patty), Scotty, Kyle, Keith (wife: Lauren), and Kevin (wife: Kimberly) and her six great grandchildren Tyler, Madison, Haley, Lucas, Nick, and Cody.

In lieu of flowers, Urszula asks that we pray for peace and stability in this world, and for those who, like her and her family, endured unimaginable atrocities at the hands of others.

She will be laid to rest next to the love of her life, Jerzy Kichner, in Saint Patrick’s Cemetery, Uncasville, CT.