Ladislava "Ladis" B. (Klejna) Nowak

Ladislava (Ladis) B. Nowak of Huntington Ma. passed away peacefully at home while with her family members on May 18th 2019. She was the Daughter of Peter and Teofila (Luty) Klejna of Westfield, and a devout communicant of Sacred Heart Church and now Our Lady of the Valley Parish in Easthampton.

Born in Bronx New York, June 27th 1929, Ladis moved with her family to Westfield Mass when she was in 7th Grade. She then Graduated from Holy Trinity Catholic School and Westfield High. A Daughter of hard working Polish immigrants, Ladis had 4 Brothers and 1 sister.

Experiencing the Great Depression, and like most others in her generation, she watched all 4 brothers march off into WWII. She spoke of movie theaters showing live war footage of the front lines and wondered if her brothers would make it home alive. Those were scary times, thankfully they all returned and working hard was the way of life. Ladis worked tobacco in Southwick Mass and then went on to work a clerical position at Van Norman Company in Springfield Mass.

In 1954, Ladis married the love of her life, Edward Nowak from Easthampton Mass. Together, they had two boys, Paul and Philip. With Dad working, and going to school, Ladis typed at home for the Daily Hampshire Gazette to be at home with the boys. She also became quite the accomplished oil painter in what ever free time she had left. Ed and Ladis built their first home on Plain St in Easthampton so the boys could enjoy all that the neighboring woods, streams and farms could offer. Ladis & Ed’s total focus was on Paul & Phil.

They enjoyed time together in many different ways such as fishing, Sunday rides, sliding in the winter, renting boats on Congamond Lakes, and Summer Vacations which were all done camping in a tent ranging from Maine, to Virginia. But most of all they instilled the value of hard work. All landscaping, property maintenance and construction projects included Paul & Phil to promote responsibility. The importance of strong education in school could not be stressed any higher along with the value of earning money to establish self support.

Faith in God was on the top of the list as well with church every Sunday, and Primary Schooling at Sacred Heart School in Easthampton. Ladis as well as Ed, in the midst of their very busy lives also took very good care of their living Mothers and Siblings. They too were included in the family life. Ladis worked at Kellogg Brush in Easthampton from 6-11pm in the sixties and early seventy’s , and again, so she could be home during the day with the boys. In 1977- the early nineties, Ladis worked as an Administrative Assistant at the University Of Massachusetts Food Science and Nutrition Dept. She was loved by all who worked and knew her. Then came her traveling years after she and Ed retired. They visited Hawaii, Poland, France, Italy, Brazil, and many destinations country wide including Las Vegas Many times. They were both adventurers and nothing stopped them from boarding a plane even one huge blizzard that required a farm tractor to pull them up a hill on the way to the airport.

In 1991 Ladis and Ed decided to build their retirement Log Home on Norwich lake in Huntington. Together they lived the next 28 years deep in the woods again working tirelessly on landscaping, still travelling, and sharing their lives with their sons and family’s. As a result of hard work, dedication, Faith, and Focus on Family, they contributed greatly, providing the best of life for themselves and their two sons. They were indeed, the Greatest Generation.

Ladis was predeceased by her Husband Edward 2 ½ months ago, of 65 years, along with her 4 Brothers, Walter, Vincent, Sylvester, and Joseph Klejna and sister Julianna. She also leaves behind her two sons Paul & Philip, Philip’s Wife Kathleen, Grandson Mathew, and Paul’s wife Maria Elena.

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