Jozefa Gut was born Nov 24, 1931 in Przewrotne, Poland. Her mother died a few years afterwards, leaving her grandmother to help raise her and her older sister Bronislawa.  World War 2 started when she was almost 8 years old. Only when asked would she talk briefly about this time. When the war ended, she was 14, and what followed was a terrific hardship for her family.  She had the ethic of a hard working country woman. Helping to earn income for the family, she sold home grown produce in Warszawa, Rzeszow and Krakow. She also apprenticed to be a seamstress and dressmaker. Later she worked at the local brick making factory, Ciegelnia Przewrotne.  By 1958, Jozefa got married to Walenty by Father Michal Dobrzanski (Dad’s brother) in Poland. After the emigration documents for her to come to Canada were completed, she arrived in Vancouver and quickly gave birth to John two days later. Mom`s uncle, John Gut, owned a small apartment block in Vancouver`s Little Italy, where the family first lived. Karol was born a few years later. In 1963, the family purchased the current home, when Andrew was born. Times in the early 60s were hard. Work sometimes took Dad out of town. To help make ends meet, rooms were rented in the house.  As the children grew more independent and needing more space, the renters had to move on. During this time Stanley was born. To regain the income, Josephine worked early mornings cleaning at SPK and at a clothing factory using her sewing skills. She later worked as a maid at the St Regis Hotel, Astor Hotel and Pacific Palisades Hotel before retirement. She really wanted to keep working.  But with Dad’s health declining, she faithfully stayed home. Over time Karol and Stan returned to help Dad and Mom at home. Mom rarely traveled outside of the city limits, although she often commented that Vancouver was as beautiful as San Francisco when going into downtown on the Cambie Bridge. Mom enjoyed the family vacations that included Spanish Banks, Kitsilano Beach, Stanley Park, and Harrison Hot Springs. Mama was always an excellent cook, where we enjoyed the full range of Polish country style cuisine. The home garden and fall preserves, home-made sauerkraut as well as sewing clothes and knitting were some of the many things Mom did for the love of the family. Many memories of the delicious dinners we seemed to take for granted: bigos, kapusniak, pyzy, pierogi, placki, nalesniki, czerwony barszcz, and paczki come to mind. Her secrets have gone with her and will truly be missed. Babcia always had time for her grandchildren and attended many family outings and enjoyed the many visits. Declining health slowed these activities over the past seven years, and with the sun rising on a beautiful July 26, 2014, Mom passed away into eternity at 82 years of age.  Jozefa was predeceased by her loving husband, Walenty, sister Bronislawa and nephew Tadeusz, and is survived by her sons John (Rita), Karol, Andrew (Janet) and Stanley, grandchildren Elizabeth, David, Mitchell, Joseph and Alexander, and her nephew Jozef in Poland.  We miss you dearly and our hearts and love are with you always. May you rest in peace with the Lord!

God bless you Mama!