Raised in Tribute:
$204.50On April 1, 2020, Eugenia (Nina) Okoniewski, loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, peacefully passed away in State College, PA.
Nina was born on September 13, 1935, in Kaliszany, Poland. She was the oldest of 3 children born to Jan and Florentyna Adrianek. Nina spent the first half of her life in Poland, where she married Kazimierz (Kazik) Okoniewski in 1952, and raised their two sons in Gdansk.
Nina moved to the United States from Poland in 1976, settling in State College with her husband Kazik. She worked for Penn State University for 20 years, eventually helping her son Darek receive his engineering degree from PSU and enabling her son Slavo and his young family join them in their new country.
In State College, Nina was a pillar of the Polish community, keeping its members connected and carrying on traditions from the old country. She could usually be found at home, cooking and entertaining for her extended family and friends, or in her vegetable garden that she tended together with her husband with great care and pride. Her family meant everything to her. When they were growing up, her grandchildren often accompanied her on spectacular vacations, and they spent many summers in her care.
Nina was preceded in death by her husband of 40 years Kazik Okoniewski. She is survived by her sons Slawomir (wife: Malgosia) and Darek (wife: Ania) Okoniewski; her grandchildren Lukas Okoniewski (wife: Megan), Ania Filepas (husband: Ricky), Marta Hawk (husband: William), Justyn Okoniewski (wife: Erika), and Claudia Okoniewski; her great-grandchildren Adrien and Julia Okoniewski, Natalia Filepas, and Luka Hawk; and her former daughter-in-law Krystyna Tyson.
Nina will be greatly missed by family and friends.
Services to celebrate Nina’s life will be held at a later date in State College.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's disease and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson's today. The Foundation is the world's largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson's research, with more than $800 million in high-impact research funded to date.
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