Edna Frances Kolenda of Southampton died on March 4, 2017, after a long period of declining health. She was 102 and had been a resident at the Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing.
She was born in Southampton and, except for the early years of World War II when her husband was working at the Grumman Aircraft plant in Bethpage, had lived her life in Southampton. She was the eldest child of Walenty and Natalie Hoinski, who had emigrated from Poland some years before her birth. Polish was the household language and she spoke and read Polish fluently.
She was a mother and homemaker, as well an event waitress and a cook and housekeeper for wealthy Southampton families. She worked into her eighties. She had been active in the Our Lady of Poland Church Ladies Guild and various other veterans affiliated activities for many years.
During a pilgrimage to Poland in the 1980s, she was privileged to have a face-to-face conversation with Pope John Paul II during a stopover in Rome. She spoke to him in Polish and His Holiness complimented her on her fine Polish, also his native language.
She and her husband, Joseph, who predeceased her in 2011, usually spent January in Florida and traveled the U.S. in their early retirement years.
She was predeceased by her brothers, Chester, Walter and Teddy; and by her sister, Franny Tase. She is survived by her sister, Mary Korte; a son, Ted Kolenda; daughter, Michele Berkoski; grandchildren, Matthew, Jason, Jennifer, Amanda and Lisa; great-granddaughters, Kristen, Emily, Megan, Colleen, Natalie, Charlotte and Tessa; and great-great-grandson, Cody.
Interment will be at Calverton National Cemetery, alongside her husband. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of O’Connell Funeral Home in Southampton.
on Mar 6, 2017