Patricia Ann Krakowski

We have a tendency to lionize the dead and not face the true reality of their lot in life, especially when it is not very good.  Patricia Ann Krakowski had to overcome a great deal.  Brought to an institution for people with developmental disabilities when she was 5 and left by her family.  Whomever admitted her didn’t even get her last name right. Later in life when she finally got a birth certificate she was surprised to learn the name on her birth certificate wasn’t the name she was known by.  Pat died this week at the age of 92.  Living to that age is a remarkable feat in itself. Never mind taking into account how awful her early years must have been.  Her apartment was on the second floor.  She must have gone up and down those stairs 10 times a day.  That was probably what accounted for her agility and strength right up to the end.   

The 1930’S was a dark time to be in need of services.   She went undiagnosed as being deaf until she was in her 30’s.  Never went to school or had the benefit of a formal education.  What she learned was through the grace of friends and true grit. She longed to live in her own place by herself.  She wanted her life and the things around her to be how she wanted them. Through her own determination, she finally moved into her own apartment.  Not having to live with other people was what she had always wanted.   She was never interested in the niceties.  She wasn’t interested in polite social behavior. People were often taken back by her directness.  The social deprivation of living in an institution for such a long time had taken its toll.  Once out Pat thrived.  She found the people she could trust.  People she somehow knew would help her achieve her dreams.  People she could relate to.    She liked being active and keeping busy.  She worked at Swift River Crafts for over 40 years doing work that made her happy and feel satisfied. She loved birds, nature, being observant of the beauty around her and watching things grow.  She lamented the decline of soap operas.  Going to Market Basket was an adventure.  She loved the lighting.  After she pointed it out, I saw it too.   

It takes a village and the center of Belchertown was her place to be.   The kindness of people she ran into at the bank, the post office or just walking around town who were willing to take the time to engage, interact and watch out for her was touching. What she wanted most in life was to be part of something larger needing to be independent, doing what she wanted.  Living in Belchertown gave her that.   Pat leaves her lifelong friends Terry and Paul, Kristen and Greg, Jacki and Rudy their respective families and the many acquaintances she made in the town she called home.  She will be missed.   Happy trails until we meet again.    

Pat will be laid to rest on Saturday, July 26th at 10:00 am at South Cemetery in Belchertown.  Beers & Story Belchertown Funeral Home was entrusted with the arrangements.