Obituary of Olga Maksymiw

96 years ago, a beautiful little girl who was baptized Olga Maria, was born to Helena Anger and John Pityk. John in Poland, a general in the army, was to kiss his little girl goodbye one day and not return as his headquarters was bombed. Helena's grief about an earlier loss of the a child in a a terrible accident that little Olga witnessed and this loss of John contributed to grandfather August's decision to try to make a new life for his two daughters, Helena and Frida, in a faraway island country, Cuba, where he had been commissioned to do some artisan work. Little Olga and her brothers Stansilaw and Mario were left with grandma and Uncle Edward and other family members until grandpa returned to take them on a long ocean voyage to join their mother in Cuba. A smart, brown eyed Polish girl was now happy to join her mother and aunt but scared as she didn't speak Spanish. Olga remembers how her grandma in Poland held on to her sobbing as she had to let her precious girl go to her mother. From that day on the journey and experience of great financial hardships in Cuba, little Olga was to assume the role of a mother to her brothers and a sister who was born in Cuba as her mother worked as a domestic to feed her family. Life was difficult as they struggled in Havana but Olga soon not only spoke spanish fluently but also learned every word of the Cuban National Anthem which she made her brothers practice as she walked them to school each day until they knew it as perfectly as she did. Olga only attended a few months of first grade in Cuba but her intellect was so superior that she only had to see something or learn it once and she memorized and retained it forever. Helena wanted her daughter, as she approached her later teen years, to meet an appropriate and respectable man. Of course, she arranged to have a fine Ukranian blond and blue eyed auto mechanic at the Hospital Infantil come by to meet her Olga. Michael Maksymiw had come from the Polish/Ukranian area as a young man and he was quite a handsome fellow. Chaperoned until the day they married, their marriage that lasted over 60 years.In 1942 Olga and Mike and their young son, Michael got the opportunity to immigrate to the United States and Mike's mom and family had come to Manhasset, Long Island in New York several years earlier . Again Olga was faced with the challenge of leaving her beloved mother and siblings and aunt and coming to a country without speaking the language and with a huge $8.00 in their pocket. .Life again was hard but Olga persevered despite the cold, the inhospitable in-laws and homesickness and made a go of it. Olga and Mike and Mickey soon moved to Manhattan, Mike got a job as an auto mechanic working his way up to service manager of the largest auto dealership in Manhattan and she soon was speaking english and taught herself how to read resulting in a lifelong habit of reading the english newsapers from cover to cover each morning. She relished life on the West Side (literally where Lincoln Center now stands) even becoming involved in the Community House as a leader. walking her children around the block to church, the library and the elementary school or even further to Central Park to play almost everyday. Her sister Helen even came from Cuba to live with them until she returned to care for their mother. The small 3 room apartment soon became small as Julie, her daughter and Mickey, her son needed more space so they moved to Bank Street in Greenwich Village and joined the bohemians by having her daughter take ballet classes and her son study music .Life in Greenwich Village was wonderful with schools and church within walking distance as well as Washington Square Park with its artists and cultural environment. By now, Olga and Mike worked to bring Mario, Her brother and his family to the United States and they joined Olga in Manhattan. Life continued to be rich. and rewarding Olga and Mike did finally make that move to the suburbs that immigrants struggle to achieve and settled first in Flushing and then closer to Bayside, Long Island where they lived until 1960 enjoying their wonderful neighbors. Olga and her family loved the cultural and religious diversity of her block and those years resulted in friendships that have lasted until the present. She also, being the great cook that she was, expanded her repertory of recipes to include making the best lasagna ever Olga only had to see someone cook something once and she never wrote it down but was able to reproduce it perfectly. She was incredibly brilliant. In l960 Olga and Mike decided to join her brother Mario and her aunt Frida who loved in Florida. Every year they had been able to travel to Cuba to see her sister and other family members and this move made it great until things changed with the Castro's arrival. Mike opened several gas stations and Olga continued to be the great homemaker and queen of Polish hospitality that she remained throughout her life. Her parties and family get togethers were feasts of food and fun. The addition of her grandson, Michael, in 1963 kept her busy as she devoted herself to raising him while Julie worked and went to school. He was and is until the day she died the most precious gift God gave her. She walked him to school each day and volunteered to do whatever the nuns wanted so that she could help her beloved grandson. But in the midst of all her work, she even found her long-lost Uncle John Anger and brought him to live with her family, caring for him when his wife died. He adored her and was able to fill in the gaps on her earlier life in Poland. Moving again first to Western Dade so she could live close to Belen Jesuit where her grandson studied and later to Coral Gables, Olga was the bedrock of the family , the financial manager, the supreme housewife, a great friend and super mom and grandma. When Mike died and her children were realy to retire, she moved to Century Village where she loved her life and neighbors for 18 years. She loved to go to the shows at the clubhouse, parties of the Hispanic Club, cruise trips to the islands and play the slot machines as often as she could get her kids to take her. She was a truly remarkable woman who struggled against many challenges and hardships to provide for her immediate and extended family. Strength of character, honesty, hard work and resilience marked the life of this glorious lady who we all loved and will love forever.