Margaret M. Stefanowicz, 85, of Farwell, died Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019, at Brookefield Park in St. Paul.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. Monday at Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in St. Paul. The Revs. Rayappa Konka, Richard Piontkowski and David Rykwalder will concelebrate the Mass. Burial will be 1:30 p.m. Monday at Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Grand Island.
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the church, with a 4 p.m. Catholic Daughters Rosary.
Peters Funeral Home of St. Paul is assisting the family.
Margaret was born on Sept. 17, 1933, on a farm near Elyria, the daughter of Frank S. and Matilda B. (Jurzenski) Zulkoski. The family later moved to a farm southeast of Scotia, where she attended Scotia Public School and graduated from Scotia High School. She then moved to Omaha, where she worked for Zales Jewelry.
She was united in marriage to John Augustyn on May 10, 1952, at Scotia. The couple first lived in Clovis, New Mexico, while John served in the United States Air Force. They then returned to Nebraska where they farmed near Elba. John died on Oct. 5, 1959.
She was united in marriage to Gilbert A. Stefanowicz on Nov. 19, 1960, at Farwell. They lived and farmed west of Farwell, their entire married life. Gilbert died Jan. 26, 2001. Margaret continued to live on the farm the rest of her life.
She was a longtime member of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church of Farwell, where she was a member of the Rosary Sodality, Council of Catholic Women and taught Religious Education classes. She later became a member of Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in St. Paul, was a member of Catholic Daughters of America Court 2015 Sacred Heart of St. Paul and was very active in the Grand Island Diocese DCCW, having served as President.
She enjoyed cooking, baking and decorating cakes. Margaret’s faith was very important to her and helped sustain her during many trying times in her life.
She is survived by a son, Frank (Natalie) Stefanowicz of Grand Island; son-in-law, John Shanahan of Grand Island; six grandchildren, Matthew, Maggie, Megan, Rylie, Nathan and Jared (Courtney); one great grandchild; and sister, Marjorie Becker of Michigan.
In addition to her husbands, John Augustyn and Gilbert Stefanowicz, she was preceded in death by her parents; and three children, Janet Shanahan, Mary Augustyn and Jerry Augustyn.
Memorials are suggested to the family for later designation.
