Agnes B. Moisa of Riverhead died at her home on December 28. She was 89.
Born on January 6, 1920, in Calverton to Konstanty and Anna née Strelecki Rutkowski, she was raised on the North Fork and her family eventually moved to the South Fork. She graduated third in her class at Bridgehampton High School.
An entrepreneur and businesswoman, she first opened the Little Hat Shop in Riverhead and then worked as the office manager and bookkeeper for Moisa Trucking in Riverhead.
She later opened a Dairy Mart on Flanders Road in Flanders and earned the nickname of “Polish Tornado” in a spinoff from commercials touting Mr. Clean products as a “white tornado,” based on her operation of a house cleaning business serving the Hamptons.
In addition to her many business ventures, she became known in Riverhead as the “original Polish connection.” Family and friends remember her efforts to help Polish immigrants establish themselves in this country by offering sponsorship, assisting in visa applications and taking them to job interviews.
As her daughter, Suzanne Andrejack of Southold, said, “She did every- thing for everybody. She was a very giving person.”
She was a member of the St. Isidore’s Roman Catholic Church in Riverhead and also found time for other activities, including bowling, for which she earned several trophies.
She is survived by her husband of 71 years, William Moisa or Riverhead; a son, William Moisa Jr. and his wife Marcia of Riverhead; two daughters, Barbara Talmadge and her husband Carl of Florida, and Suzanne Andrejack and her husband Joseph of Southold; a sister, Emily Suchenski of New Jersey; seven grandchildren, Arlene Hamor, John and Richard Moisa, Paul Talmadge and Joseph W., William and Aimee Andrejack; and seven great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by four brothers, Felix, Henry, Stanley and Anthony Rutkowski, and two sisters, Anna Ogeka and Bertha Jablonski.
The family received visitors on December 29 and December 30 at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home in Riverhead. Funeral services were held on December 31 at St. Isidore’s Roman Catholic Church, also in Riverhead. Interment followed at St. John the Evangelist Cemetery in Riverhead.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Mrs. Moisa’s name to the charity of the donor’s choice would be appreciated by the family.
on Jan 13, 2010