Stanislaw Fabia

Stanislaw (Stanley, Stan) Fabia, son of Zofia Siwiec and Franciszek Fabia (a hero of two World Wars) was born in Bielsko-Biala, Poland on October 28, 1932, and lived until October 6, 2023. He passed peacefully and with dignity (as with everything he did in his life) in the home of his daughter and son-in law in Columbus, Ohio, USA where he lived for the last 24 years of his life.

He is preceded in death by his sister Pola and two of his three brothers, Kazimierz, and Alexander. His beloved wife, Bronislawa (Bronia), to whom he was married for over 50 years, and who was a vivacious, loving, bright, caring, and kind-hearted woman, passed on in November of 2012, after a devastating illness. Stanislaw loved her dearly and took extraordinary care of her to the last minute of her life, as he was incredibly devoted to her “in sickness and in health”, as promised in his marriage vows. He is survived by his younger brother, Henry, his only, beloved daughter Renata Fabia, his very much-loved and admired son in-law Amer Rajab, and the “apples of his eye”—his two grandchildren, Adrian, and Nadia.

He loved family, friends, sports (he loved rooting for Poland and the US), travels with his family, history of the world, and a simple food: potatoes. He was a gentleman with a warm twinkle in his eye and a joyful spirit!

His origins were quite humble; he was born into a family of limited means in the suburb of a Polish city. His parents were not highly educated or famous, but they were deeply loved and good people. His opportunity for higher education was disrupted due to the Second World War and limited finances. However, he always had an incredible memory for history and was always good with math and measurements, and his length/width and volume rough estimations were amazingly precise. He learned one of his father’s trades and become a master of carpentry.

He had a great, though humble life in Poland for the first 50+ years. He survived the Second World War and its aftermath. He loved his family. His young relatives always admired his unimposing but strong guidance in life. Together with his wife, he had an extraordinarily large circle of friends, sharing with them what he cherished the most: authentic friendship, kindness, and respect.

When he became a father to his only daughter, he bestowed on her as much unconditional love as a father could give. He took wonderful care of her and taught her love and patience, the most important virtues in life, and how to understand that friendship, empathy, kindness, faith, good moral judgment, and caring for others are more important than richness, fame, and success. However, he was always very proud of her and her family’s accomplishments. In the 1990s he started to follow his daughter everywhere she went, across three different countries. He visited her several times while she lived in Sweden, where she found the love of her life, a wonderful doctor from Syria. Then he followed her to Dallas, Texas where she initially settled in the USA. Later on, they moved to Ohio. He was, however, always looking forward to their visits to Poland. He visited Poland for the last time just 3 months before his passing.

The most important points in his life were the arrivals of his grandson and granddaughter. He became the most indulging, wonderful granddad (“Dziadzius” in Polish) in the world. He took every opportunity to be connected throughout their growth and achievements and showered his grandchildren with love. As perfect as he was as a grandfather, he was an outstanding dad to both his daughter and son-in-law, with whom he had a special connection despite the language barrier.

Stanislaw enjoyed his last decades living in the home of his daughter and son-in-law, up to his last year of life. His grandkids decided not to leave Ohio for college in order to stay close to him. They called him every day and came by to hug him at every opportunity. Along with dinner every night, he and his family shared their joys and challenges.

He was challenged with multiple diseases and painful conditions throughout his life which he endured with patience and grace, impressing even his doctors and rehab therapists. He did his exercises religiously every day to the last day of his life, and he managed his medications and meals perfectly.

Most importantly, he touched many lives in Poland and beyond, despite not having any special degrees, fame, wealth, despite not speaking English, and despite being a quiet, unimposing, humble person. He made a lasting, positive, and significant impact on many people around the world who continue to keep him in their hearts.

Instead of material wealth, Stanislaw was blessed with humility, warmth, patience, kindness, grace, and a quiet appreciation of everything around him. He had a profound love of people and gentleness toward animals. He was forgiving, never demanding, always positive, helpful, hopeful for the future, and always neat and well-organized. He never did anything in a hurry, imprecisely, or without thinking. He enjoyed every small pleasure, and for most of his life he was simply content.

He was of the Catholic faith and attended church as long as he could, adhering closely to moral commandments and never doing anything just because it was customary.

He departed this world with the calmness and grace that he lived by all his life. He fell asleep in the afternoon upon the bed that he had shared with his late wife. A year prior, he celebrated his 90th Birthday in Poland surrounded by his loving family and friends. His last worlds in this word were: “don’t hurry, go slowly, take it easy”.

Our hearts are broken because the candle of his life is not burning anymore. We miss him so much, but we know that he lives on in the love, wisdom, and kindness he instilled in us.

A celebration of his life will be held at the home of his daughter and son-in-law, and he will be buried in Poland beside his wife.