Obituary of Mary POLTRONIAK

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Mary Poltorniak, who was born on January 2, 1927 and went home to be with her Lord on November 7, 2010. Mary was born in Krakow, Poland. Her childhood ended at the age of thirteen, when the soldiers of the Third Reich took her, along with many other children, from her school and transported them to Germany for forced agricultural work. This very hard ordeal for such a young person lasted until the end of the war - and it was decades before she returned for her only visit to Poland. Mary came to Canada after the war at the age of nineteen to live with her uncle and his family in Cranbrook, B.C. Within a few years she came to Calgary, where she soon began employment at the Holy Cross Hospital. When the Grey Nuns offered Mary the opportunity to study and learn how to perform electrocardiograms, she readily accepted. In time, she perfected her skills and became an invaluable member of the Holy Cross cardiology team. She also worked in the heart catheterization lab and the experimental lab of the old Holy Cross. She had a special love for sick children and was a dedicated caregiver to all her patients. Mary worked her way up to be appointed head of the ECG Department at the Holy Cross, a position which she retained until her retirement due to illness. Her career was cut short by the onset of Guillain Barre disease, from which she never fully recovered and which caused her untold suffering for the last twenty years of her life. Throughout these long and difficult years, Mary has fought a courageous battle to maintain her humour and independence. She never forgot her beginnings as an immigrant to Canada, and subsequently helped many young people who came in the seventies and eighties both financially, and in getting their first Canadian work. Mary is survived by her nieces and nephews in Poland, including Jadzia Wozny and her husband Jozef, both of whom visited Mary numerous times in Canada. She is also survived by many loving friends in Calgary and throughout Canada. Those wishing to pay their respects were able to do so at HERITAGE FUNERAL HOME, 1708 16th Avenue N.W. (across from the North Hill Shopping Centre, Calgary) on Friday, November 12, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. Funeral Mass was Celebrated at St. Marys Cathedral (219 - 18th Avenue S.W.) on Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. A Graveside Service was held at St. Marys Cemetery, (1 Street & 32 Avenue S.W.) on Monday, November 15, 2010 at 11:00 a.m.