Pauline Elizabeth (Stupca) Cichorz was born July 28, 1919 in Gilbert, Minnesota. She was the eighth of 13 children born to Charles and Fannie (Samson) Stupca, who emigrated to the U.S. from the Austria-Hungary region that is now Slovenia. After her high school graduation, Pauline left Minnesota to work as an au pair in Chicago, where she met and later married Stanley Cichorz on January 31, 1942.
Their marriage lasted 47 years until Stanley’s death in 1989. Pauline and Stanley had two children, Roger, born November 5, 1942 while Stanley was serving overseas in the military, and Dennis, born May 2, 1952. They resided in Cicero, IL until 1947 when they moved to nearby Berwyn where they purchased their home in 1954. After Stanley retired in 1974, they moved to a new home in Black Forest, CO to be closer to family in that area and in Boulder.
Pauline enjoyed country life and vegetable gardening on their five acres in Black Forest until 1987 when Stanley’s health necessitated a move to Colorado Springs. After Stanley’s passing, Pauline lived independently in a senior’s condominium complex until her failing physical health required a move in January 2018 to the MorningStar of Boulder assisted living facility where she could be closer to her son Roger and his wife Norma. Sadly, after an enjoyable year’s stay at MorningStar, she died of heart failure, six months shy of reaching the Century mark.
Pauline loved to read and was an avid puzzle solver -- crosswords, cryptograms, jigsaws, you name it – she loved these challenges and was mentally sharp until the very end of her life. She enjoyed playing cards and dominoes, being the ever-competitive one who hated to lose. She never lost her zest for life and traveled extensively after Stanley’s passing. But most of all, she was a wonderful mother to her two sons and grandmother to their three children.
Pauline is survived by two sons and their wives, Roger and Norma Cichorz in Boulder, and Dennis and Leslie Cichorz in Buffalo Grove, IL, three grandchildren, five greatgrandchildren, a sister and brother, and 45 nieces and nephews and their extended families.
Crist Mortuary in Boulder is handling the arrangements. No immediate services are planned. Instead, a celebration of her life will be held in Colorado Springs at a later date for family and friends. Her ashes will be placed next to her husband Stanley in the family plot in Eastonville Cemetery in Black Forest. In lieu of flowers, donations in Pauline’s name may be made to Boulder Community Health Foundation @ https://www.bch.org/Donate.aspx.
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