Columbus
Funeral services and Mass of Christian Burial for Kazimiera Maria Brewczynski, 93, a resident of Columbus, will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 22, 2017, at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church, 1306 27th St., Columbus, Indiana. Burial will be at the Bell Tower Garden, Garland Brook Cemetery, Columbus. The family will greet friends at 9:30 a.m. in the narthex of St. Bartholomew Catholic Church. There will be no other visitation.
Kazimiera ‘Kazia’ died peacefully at home May 2, 2017. She was born in Lublin, Poland, in 1924, the daughter of Antoni Kamola vel Kamelski and Katarzyna Wojcik. Kazia met and married Tadeusz Brewczynski, himself a political survivor of several concentration camps, in Saulgau, Germany, in 1945, after the end of WW2. Tadeusz, born in Rembertow, Poland, preceded her in death Feb. 1993, in Sydney, Australia.
Kazia’s education ended at age 15 but, through inner strength and defiance, she accomplished untold acts of courage to help inmates in the forced labor camp and to save lives trying to flee the Gestapo. She did this with her participation in the French Resistance Movement which was a covert operation in the camp. Her hard labor was at a sawmill in southern Germany. Kazia and Tadeusz lived in a Displaced Persons Refugee camp until an opportunity came about to begin a challenging new life with two small daughters in Sydney, Australia.
Kazia was a fighter who knew the ethics of hard work, working in factories, choosing the joy of housework and gardening over fine crafts. Her talents were her quick and funny wit and to make friends and family laugh with humorous prose and antics. Most importantly, she had an immense love of singing and dancing.
She is survived by her children and spouses, Elzbieta (Ron) Bidwell of Columbus, Indiana and Irena (Jack) Vardavas of Queensland, Australia; nine grandchildren, Dara Bidwell, Katherin Ruiz, Paul Bidwell, Stephen Bidwell, Philip Bidwell, Helen Lauritzen, Michael Vardavas, Belinda Brewczynska and Vicky Lane; 15 great-grandchildren, Clara, Isabel, Kieran, Caleb, Amelia, Henry, Alice, Laurel, Sebastian, Angelina, Sierra, Austin, Cody, Toby and Courtney; and nieces, Marianna Graham and Cecylia Dyzcko.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by a loving son, George Brewczynski, in 2009. Twelve brothers and sisters also preceded her death.
Memorial donations may be made to St. Bartholomew Catholic School or to Our Hospice of South Central Indiana.
The family will receive online condolences at www.Hathaway-Myers.com.
Hathaway-Myers Chapel is serving the Brewczynski family.
