Beatrice Szymanski, “Bea” was a loving wife, mother, grandma, great-grandma, great-great-grandma, aunt, cousin, and friend. She was born October 3, 1928 in Chicago, Illinois to Ignatz Broniecki and Frances MiGawa. She was the youngest of three children, including her brother Eddie and her sister Delores. Her father died when she was four and her mother died when she was seven. She was raised by her mother’s brother, Joseph and his wife, Cecilia.
In 1948, when Bea was twenty, she married and the following year gave birth to her daughter, Susan. Shortly afterwards, Bea divorced and raised Susan as a single mom. Bea worked the night shift as a welder at Schwinn for many years.
In 1962, Bea met Tony Szymanski at a Polish picnic. His wife had just died and he had two boys, Greg and Paul. They were married a few months later and remained married for many years until Tony’s death in 2008. In addition to raising a family, Bea and Tony ran a trucking business together, Niles Delivery Service. In 1972, they sold the trucking business and retired to Florida where they remained until 2005.
They returned to the Chicago area to be with family.
Bea loved music. She played the accordion and the organ by ear and loved polka dancing. Bea also loved traveling. She traveled frequently with her niece Dorothy. Her favorite destinations were casinos where she played the slot machines and Florida. One of her most memorable trips was a cruise to the Bahamas with Donny and Marie. She continued to travel until a few months before she passed.
Bea was known for her kindness, generosity, and of course her spunk.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Tony, children, Susan Whitney, Greg Szymanski, and Paul Szymanski, 8 grandchildren (Shelly Ryan, Shawn Bonilla, Susan Zabolotzky, Jim Tackett, Cindy Thomas, Lindsay Szymanski, Scott Szymanski, and Katie Szymanski), 7 great-grandchildren (Kristi Jones, Erica Bonilla, Jimmy Bonilla, Alyssa Zabolotzky, Madison Zabolotzky, Jacob Thomas, and Justin Tackett), and 2 great-great-grandchildren (Autumn Jones and Athena Jones).
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