Obituary of Halina Tyjer

Halina Tyjer (Kaleta), 87, of Totowa, NJ, passed away on September 20, 2015. Halina was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1928, one of eleven children. During WWII, when Germany had invaded Poland, Halina was one of many people who were separated from their families and forced into labor in Germany. At 15, Halina was taken from her home to work on a small farm for several years with no pay and meager amenities until allied forces came and set her free in 1946. She always remembered the kindness of an American soldier who gave her his coat when he saw how cold she was and had none. When the war was declared over, she was one of the many Displaced Persons that did not return to Poland and had to be resettled. She met her husband, Zdzislaw, and they decided to stay in what became West Germany and had three children. In 1956, in order to establish a better life for her and her family, Halina, her husband and children, attained sponsorship, left from Bremen, Germany and flew to New York where they eventually settled in Paterson, NJ. Later, through contact with the International Red Cross, she found out that her mother, Magdalena, had died during Halina’s internment and that she had three surviving sisters with whom she began to correspond. Unfortunately, she was never reunited with them. Like many of her generation and circumstances, Halina was a strong woman who with determination and hard work was able to adapt to her new country and make a life for herself and her family. Her only regret was that she was never able to again see the country of her birth due to various circumstances and then ill health. In addition to her mother, Magdalena, her father, Kaspar, and sisters in Poland, Halina was pre-deceased by her husband, Zdzislaw, her son-in-law, Joseph Stypulkoski and a grandchild, Michael Stypulkoski. She is survived by her three children Jolanta Tyjer, Wendy Brannigan and husband, Peter, and Waldemar Tyjer and wife, Stella, six grandchildren, Sabrina Tyjer, Gregory Tyjer and wife, Michele, Melissa Brody and husband, Sean, Natasha Mendez and husband Abel, Kevin Tyjer, Mark Stypulkoski and one great-grandchild, Nicolas Tyjer. She was lovingly cared for by Maria Pojediniec for the past 16 months. Due to the circumstances in her own young life, Halina loved and cherished her family above all else and her happiest moments were spent in their company. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday at St. James of the Marches Church, 410 St. James Rd., Totowa, NJ. Entombment will follow at Garden of Memories Cemetery in Paramus, NJ. Memorial donations may be sent to Valley Hospice 223 N. Van Dien Ave. Ridgewood, NJ 07450 Phone: 201-447-8000 Website: www.valleyhealth.com