Stefania Filipek

Stefania "Stephi" Filipek passed away on May 21, 2026, one day before her 102nd birthday. Born Stefania Marynczak in the small village of Typin, Poland, she was the daughter of Maria and Konstanty Marynczak, and came into the world alongside her twin brother John — the youngest of a family that included brothers Julian and Ambroży and a half sister. 

Village life in Typin was all she knew until 1939, when Nazi forces invaded Poland. Her mother Maria was brutally murdered, and her father Konstanty was lost to the war. Stephi was sent to Germany as a forced farm laborer, where she spent most of the war. Afterward she landed in a Displaced Persons camp, where her fluency in German, Polish, and Russian put her in demand as a Red Cross translator. It was there that she met Edward Filipek, and 1949 the two immigrated to the United States, where they raised two sons, Richard and Thaddeus. 

Stephi said what she thought and didn't dwell on sentiment. What she did invest in was her kitchen — potato pancakes, soups, and homemade pierogi were her calling cards. She worked hard and in 1976 bought her own home, no small feat for a woman who had arrived with nothing. 

She was preceded in death by her former husband Edward, her sons Richard and Thaddeus, and her parents and siblings. She is survived by grandchildren Nicholas, Leila, and Ted Jr., and by numerous nieces and nephews. 

She earned every one of her nearly 102 years.

Arrangements entrusted with Chicagoland Cremation Options of Schiller Park, IL.