Irene Fialkowski

It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of Irene Fialkowski of Polish Town in Riverhead. She was 101 years old, and suffered a heart attack in February. She was not expected to bless us with two more months, but she held strong until her very last day on this earth. 

Irene was loved by so many. She will be missed by her family in the U.S., her family in Poland and her St. Isidore R.C. Church friends. 

Irene was well known in Polish Town for taking in newcomers and those passing through. She was also very proud of her job and service to Central Suffolk Hospital. From the mid 1960s and well into the 2000s Irene could be spotted doing her shopping on foot, walking all over Riverhead carrying her grocery bags and politely declining many rides. She frequented the Polish Travel Agency and Polish Deli and enjoyed chatting with anyone who came in. 

Irene provided child care and love for so many children in her long life, beginning with her cousins when she was a young teen in war-stricken Poland. Irene was a survivor. She shared many moving stories of courage and hard work from her time growing up in Poland and making the trip across the ocean to meet up with her childhood sweetheart and make a new life in America. Irene married Edmund Fialkowski and together they raised five children. 

Irene is survived by five children, nine grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. 

The family will receive visitors Monday, May 1, from 5 to 8 p.m. at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home in Riverhead. A funeral Mass will be held at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 2, at St. Isidore’s R.C. Church in Riverhead.

This is a paid notice.