ROZBICKI, ZBIGNIEW STANLEY

Zbigniew Stanley Rozbicki died one year ago on April 30, presumably from heart failure.

A lover of children, animals, wilderness, and lifelong student of history, he embraced and celebrated the beauty of life until his end. Despite suffering from various chronic ailments, he continued to live life on his own terms; still happily splitting and hauling his own firewood, and having reported taking a “wonderful motorcycle ride up into New York State” the day before he died… just 2 months shy of his 80th birthday.

Born in Warsaw, Poland in 1941, his father Stanislaw was killed fighting the Nazis with the Polish Resistance during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. The family was fortunate enough to have been captured just early enough in the conflict to survive, as they later learned that Germans simply executed most of the women and children captured even the following day. Sent first to a Concentration Camp and then to a Forced Labor Camp, they endured the Allied Bombardment of Germany while his mother Maria worked in a munitions factory until the Allied Liberation.

Maria, Donuta and Zbigniew immigrated to the US on one of the “Liberty Ships” in 1951. After enrolling in grade school in Torrington, CT, his teacher looked at the name of the non-english speaking Polish kid on the roster and immediately began referring to him simply as “Ned”. His beloved mother Maria worked two full time jobs, one at the Torin Corporation, and a second cooking at the hospital in order to support their family and pay for his undergraduate degree from the University of Wyoming and his Law Degree from The University of New Mexico. His son Zbigniew Michael Rozbicki and grandson Zbigniew Kalen Rozbicki, now of Falls Village, CT, both proudly carry his name and his memory forward in their hearts.

The Covid delayed celebration of his life will be held in Falls Village following a graveside service at Lower Town Cemetery in Falls Village September 12, 2021. Details, photos and remembrances are can be found at https://www.mykeeper.com/profile/ZbigniewRozbicki1/ In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a donation to Doctors without Borders, or to the scholarship fund set up in his name at the University of Wyoming for needy Native American Students. http://uw.uwyo.edu/rozbicki Remembrances, photos and cards will also be welcomed c/o Z. Rozbicki, PO Box 212, Falls Village, CT 06031.