Marion R. Kowalczyk (Zukowski)

Marion “Bop” Kowalczyk

Marion R Kowalczyk, 88, of Honesdale, peacefully departed this earthly life on Saturday 1/22/22 while In Bluffton SC.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Louis (2017).  The couple was married for 66 years.

Marion was a firework from the start.  She was born on July 4, 1933 in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Antoinette and Cyprian Zukowski.

Much of her life was spent as a happy host; as a waitress at Kreitner’s, then, as a smiling face to hundreds of students in the Wayne Highlands School District, and always, as a loving and devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, sharing her Polish pride through pierogis, oplatki, and prayer. Marion also enjoyed her time as a member of the Texas #4 Ladies Auxiliary. She was hard to out cheer at Yankee Games or when the Blue Devils or Orangemen took the court, and she always brought her cowbell to her grandchildren’s sporting events…much to their embarrassment and pride.  

Her faith and trust in God were threads woven throughout her life. A member of St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, she shared her voice with the choir and journeyed to Rome as papal audience for John Paul II. Marion was also a faithful member of the EucharisticAdoration Chapel. Later in life she put the power of prayer in countless strangers’ hands through her work as a Rosary maker.

She will always be known as a loving mother to her children Dorothy Rickard and husband Doug, Cherry Ridge; Ronald Kowalczyk and wife Cindy, Honesdale; Sandy Tasselmyer and husband Lenny, Bluffton, SC; and Mary-Lou Mayernik and husband Chas, Whitehall. Babcia or lovingly known as “Bop” will be missed by her grandchildren Carly, Kady, Bart, Wade, Adrea, Kyle, Stellie, Trevor, Elizabeth, Abigail, and Lydia, but she felt most blessed to have known her great grandchildren, Miles, Quinn, Nash, Esme, Margaret, Albrecht, Lark, Beau, Penn, Leo, Samantha Ann, JoJo, and Kennedy-Lou.

She was preceded in death by her parents, stepfather Andrew Mendlock, and by her siblings Kitty, Eddie, Joe, and Chet who were her best friends throughout her life.

Other friends she met along the way are welcome to visit Hessling Funeral Home, 428 Main Street, Honesdale, PA 18431, on Thursday, January 27, 4-6PM. A mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on January 28, at St. Mary Magdalen RC Church, Honesdale, PA, at 10am with entombment to follow at Our Mother of Sorrow Cemetery, Finch Hill. In consideration of others, masking is preferred.

Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to, St John the Evangelist Church, 414 Church Street, Honesdale PA 18431 or My Jesus Mercy Ministries, 1763 Great Bend Turnpike, Pleasant Mount PA 18453.