Mary Mikulewicz, loved animals

Mary Mikulewicz of Ridgefield, a New York City native who loved animals, died Saturday, Jan. 8, 2005, at Hancock Hall in Danbury of natural causes. She was 89 years old.

Mrs. Mikulewicz was born Mary Kostiw on June 25, 1915 at home, at 71 First Avenue, in New York City, a year after her parents arrived from Ukraine. She and her younger sister grew up and went to school in Manhattan.

Her parents, who believed in the benefits of country air and fresh food, sent them to spend their youthful summers at a farm in Colchester. After graduating from high school, she worked as a secretary to a lawyer and then to a real estate agent.

In the 1930’s, the family moved to a newly built home in Queens. She married Joseph Mikulewicz and they lived with her parents, raising a family. She developed a love of animals Ñ “There were always parakeets or canaries in cages by the windows and during the war years, there were chickens in the back yard,” her son, Bil Mikulewicz, recalled. “A dog was always about, and every few years a rabbit or two. Her children added frogs, fish and guinea pigs to the mix.”

While raising her family, she worked as a sales assistant at the local Woolworth’s and then for many years as an orthodontist’s assistant. In 1997 Mrs. Mikulewicz and her husband moved to an apartment in Ridgefield to be near their son.

After her husband died in 1998, Mrs. Mikulewicz lived with her son Bil and his family before moving to Prospect Ridge Congregate Housing, where she enjoyed making new friends and successfully worked to change the restrictive no-pet policy.

“She was always interested in life around her,” her son said. “She was surprised herself at how much she enjoyed being in Ridgefield. She said at one point if she had realized how nice it would be, she would have moved here decades ago.”

Besides her son, Mrs. Mikulewicz is survived by a daughter, Katherine London; four grandchildren, Alex Mikulewicz, Maude Rich, and Karen and Steve London; two great-grandchildren, Jackie and Samantha Rich; and a sister, Anne Lafkoff, and her children.

A memorial service will be held in the spring.