Witold Borowski, who witnessed much history, dies at 96

Witold "Vic" Borowski was raised by friends and neighbors in a farming community in Poland after his parents died when he was a child. His life would be further upended when Germany invaded his homeland, setting off World War II.

Twenty years after the war ended, Witold, his wife, Marta, and two children left Communist Poland for a new life in the United States. It would be a long one: Borowski, a Bloomington resident for almost 40 years, died Feb. 15 at age 96.

Borowski's life straddled both countries.

"They considered themselves American — American Polish," Gabriela Ferski said of her parents. "They wanted to be integrated into the American community, but not forgetting the Polish part."

Borowski was born in the Polish town of Ostrowite and educated through grade school. His mother, a teacher, died when he was 10. His father, a farmer and tradesman, died of natural causes three years later. He and his five siblings were raised by neighboring families, Ferski said.

"I believe because of their upbringing — losing the family — those kids stayed resilient," Ferski said.

They would need it. During the war, one sibling ended up in a concentration camp; another fought with the Polish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto.

Ferski said her father was in the rear of the German army — not on the front lines — and was marched across Yugoslavia, Albania and Greece.

After the war ended, he languished for a time in a displaced persons camp in Belgrade, stricken with malaria.

By August 1945, he was back in his hometown, and he soon got together with an old friend and schoolmate who would become his wife later that year.

Borowski found work as a postal worker in the north central city of Grudziadz, then became a postal manager. The family lived in a small apartment.

"We were not rich. We lived month to month," Ferski said.

Witold had a decent job and was at first reluctant to leave Poland. But his wife believed "we would improve our life," and Witold came around, Ferski said.

Moving to the United States wasn't an easy proposition. "We waited three years to get the approval of Poland and the United States to immigrate legally," she said.

The family arrived in 1965, living at first with Marta's brother in south Minneapolis. Witold and Marta both got jobs as dishwashers at the Pick-Nicollet Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. The whole family took evening classes to learn English.

Eventually, Witold landed a job at a Bloomington company that manufactures aerospace products. He worked for several years there as a quality control inspector, retiring at age 62.

Borowski missed his many friends and family members back in Poland, Ferski said. But he and Marta traveled there over the years, most recently in 2005, visiting people in several parts of the country.