Born on April 19, 1938 in Warsaw, Poland to Stanislaw and Maria Filipowicz. During WWII while his father was serving as a Pilot in the Polish Air Force and then in the French and in the British Royal Air Force, Al managed to flee his homeland as an infant with his mother to England where he was later reunited with his father at the end of the war. Soon after, they immigrated together as a family to the United States. They came to America from war torn Poland with aspirations to make a better life.
Al graduated from Temple University in 1961 with a degree in Biology. He then went to the Kansas City University of Osteopathic Medicine and graduated in 1969 as a Doctor in Osteopathic Medicine with an emphasis on Family Medicine. After graduating from Medical school he went to be an extern in Pontiac, Michigan for a year and from there went to work in an emergency department in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for seven years. Al met his wife Janette during a brief stint he had as an extern in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the Osteopathic Hospital where Janette worked in the records department. They married on October 18, 1969 and went on to welcome three daughters, eventually making their way to Kansas City, Missouri where ultimately Al set up a modest private practice as a General Practitioner with two locations, one north and one south of the river. As a dedicated physician he provided affordable healthcare to a community underserved.
Al’s daughters cherish fond memories of loading up the family station wagon and traveling each summer across the country to various National Parks and just a multitude of places of interest. The family even traveled to his beloved Country of Poland in 1986 which was an extremely memorable experience.
Al was very much a family man. He was proud of his Polish heritage and made sure his family experienced this culture while passing along many traditions. He was fluent in both English and Polish and spoke his native language at every opportunity. He also had great passion for history and geography and was practically an encyclopedia of information that was truly amazing. He loved traveling, hiking in the great outdoors and reading. He loved taking pictures of ALL his girls.
Al was a member of various medical associations, some of which include American Osteopathic Association and Missouri Osteopathic Association. He was also a part of the National Polish Alliance.
Al is preceded in death by his father, Stanislaw Filipowicz, mother, Maria Filipowicz, and aunt, Zofia Sojczuk.
Al is survived by his wife, Janette of the home, and his three children: Diana Nauman of Kansas City, Mo., Marci Filipowicz and husband Jeremy Hallock of Dallas, Tx, and Elizabeth Rogers and husband Roy along with two grandchildren Amelia and Ruby Rogers of Smithville, Mo.
