Zofia Kaczorowski, 88, fought for Poland

Zofia “Baba” Kaczorowski of 22 Lounsbury Road, a longtime Ridgefielder who had fought with the Polish underground and been imprisoned during World War II, died on Thursday, Aug. 1, at Laurel Ridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. She was 88 years old and the widow of Zbigniew Michael Kaczorowski.
Mrs. Kaczorowski was born in Jaslo, Poland, on Feb. 14, 1914 and attended schools in Poland.
After Poland had fallen to the Nazis in September 1939, Zofia and her fiancé, a lieutenant in the Polish army, knew he would soon be sent to a prison camp. On Oct. 1, they were married and a short time later, Lt. Kaczorowski was arrested and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner at a camp in Murnaw.
Zofia Kaczorowski joined the Polish underground army, and was eventually arrested and sent to a concentration camp in Germany.
The couple was reunited in Italy in 1946. From there they went to England for five years. Taking advantage of the Special Immigration Bill for Polish Veterans, they came to the United States in 1951 and settled in New York.
There, Mrs. Kaczorowski went to work as a seamstress in the dressmaking industry. “She was an incredible seamstress,” said her granddaughter, Krysta Cuccia Hamilton of Ridgefield.
The Kaczorowskis came to Ridgefield in 1961, living at first on Hayes Lane and then, in the late 1970s, moving to Lounsbury Road.
When her daughter Krystyn Cuccia Zipparo died in 1986, Mrs. Kaczorowski took over raising her two children, Krysta Cuccia Hamilton and Alexandra Zipparo.
Mrs. Kaczorowski was active in St. Mary’s Church and had been a member of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union in New York. She volunteered her sewing skills to create uniforms for the Friends of Polish Girl Scouts in America, Ms. Zipparo said, adding “she was an extremely gifted seamstress.”
The granddaughters also described Mrs. Kaczorowski as an excellent gardener and cook. “She took great pride in her flowers,” Ms. Hamilton said.
“She made killer pierogies,” added Ms. Zipparo.
Besides her granddaughters, Mrs. Kaczorowski is survived by five great-granddaughters: Kimberly, Jessica and Nicole Hamilton of Ridgefield, and Melissa and Christina Zipparo of Danbury; her former son-in-law, Dr. Joseph Zipparo of Ridgefield, and his three sons, Greg, Joe and Jay Zipparo.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Tuesday in St. Mary’s Church. Burial was in St. Mary’s Cemetery.
Contributions in her memory may be made to Friends of Polish Scouts, 6005 West Irving Park, Chicago, IL 60634.
The Kane Funeral Home, 41 Catoonah Street, is in charge of arrangements.