Pietrzak, Zofia 'Zosia' Irena

Zofia “Zosia” Irena Pietrzak, 85, of Tucson, Ariz., formerly of Cedar Rapids, a Soviet Camp survivor and “Citizen of the World,” died peacefully of natural causes Sept. 22, 2011, at her Calle Barranco Tucson residence in accordance with her wishes. A Memorial Mass will be held 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at St. Cyril Catholic Church, 4725 E. Pima St., Tucson.

Zofia was born Feb. 17, 1926, in Rohatyn, Poland, as the daughter of Michael and Helena (Krzykowska) Strzelec. She, with her older sisters, Olga and Nuna, lived on a small rural estate and attended the Piotr Skarga grammar school in Rohatyn until the outbreak of World War II. Russian occupation lead to the prompt deportation of her family to a labor camp in northern Kazakhstan in 1940. Her father, less fortunate, was among those Polish officers and government officials documented to have been executed at Katyn Forest on April 13, 1940.

Two-and-a-half hard years of her early teens were spent in the harsh conditions of the Soviet labor camp. In 1943, she was among those Poles released by Stalin and allowed to join the Polish 2nd Corps under General Anders in support of the Allied cause. She made the treacherous journey to Iran to join the Allied Forces. As a late teen on active duty in the military women's auxiliary, she and her sister Nuna attended the Polish Auxiliary Forces High School in Nazareth, Palestine. In 1944, they were stationed in Egypt, where she and her sister organized shows, dances and entertainment events for troops in Egypt. She was described by her colleagues as the “Star of the show - beautiful, elegant and witty.” It was there she met Julius Pietrzak, also serving in the allied forces toward the end of the war.

When the war ended she remained in the Middle East to pursue studies and a career in medicine, attending the French University, Beirut. Two years later, she married her wartime sweetheart, Julius Pietrzak, in Surrey, England, on Sept. 14, 1946. She then joined Julius and many other Polish students at the University of Bologna medical school in Italy.

Her priority for a family life ended her aspirations for medicine and she moved to London where her first child, Eva, was born in 1951. There she also worked as an agent for the Thomas Cook Travel Agency. In 1952, Zofia, Eva and Julius immigrated to the United States and settled in Chicago, where their son, Michael, was born in 1953. The family moved to Iowa where they lived for 25 years.

Zofia was a frequent lecturer at local colleges on the subject of life in labor camps in the Soviet Union. She was renown for exceptional European culinary skills and her especially artistic presentations of food during entertainment events. She enjoyed hosting foreign exchange students and promoting foreign relations, calling herself a “citizen of the world.” The most surprising, loving relationship of Zofia's life came during her children's LaSalle High School days, when the family adopted a foreign exchange sister, Aronita Botler Rosenblatt. The families merged and became bonded forever.

Zofia and Julius moved to Tucson, Ariz., for their later years where “Zosia” was an active member of the Polish community and St. Cyril's Parish. As vice president of the Solidarity Movement in Tucson, she continued her lifelong opposition to political oppression raising substantial funds helping to end communism in Poland.

She was always an avid reader and traveler, anxious to meet new people and ready for a new adventure, and will be remembered mostly as a loving mother, grandmother and devoted wife.

Zofia is survived by her husband of 65 years, Julius Pietrzak, M.D.; her sister, Nuna (Strzelec) Zakrzewska of London, England; her daughter, Eva Stefenson of Los Angeles, Calif., and New York City; her son, Michael Pietrzak, M.D., of Vail, Colo.; and her adopted daughter, Aronita Rosenblatt. She is also survived by three grandchildren, Audrey Isabella Stefenson of McLean, Va., and Landis and Darek Pietrzak of Vail, Colo.

Angel Valley Funeral home in Tucson is accepting condolences and donations to the Alzheimer's Foundation, the family charity, and endeavor of choice.

Published Sept. 26, 2011, in The Gazette