- Date Of Birth: May 26, 1932
- Date Of Death: October 8, 2018
- State: Colorado
Josephine (Jozefa) Teresa Nowicka was born in Dabrowa, Poland, a village which now lies in the Ukraine, on May 26th, 1932. On February 10, 1940 Jozefa, along with her five siblings and parents were deported to a forced labor camp in Soviet Russia along with over a million and a half Poles. In 1942, after “amnesty” was granted, Jozefa’s family escaped their labor camp, walking hundreds of kilometers to the nearest train station in Vologda from where they traveled to Kujbyjshev, where a Polish Embassy had been set up. Jozefa and two siblings were transported to an orphanage in Ashgabat along the Persian border and traveled subsequently with the Polish Army to Mashad, Iran where all Poles were put under quarantine. At the invitation of Maharaja Jam Sahebl Digvijaysinghi they traveled through Afganistan and present day Pakistan to safety in Balachadi, which lies in the state of Guajarat. For the next five years Josephine and her siblings lived with one thousand other Polish orphans, in sunny and hospitable India where the Maharaja had set up a Polish camp. After Indian Independence in 1947 Josephine and her sister Jadwiga came to the U.S. with a group of forty eight other Polish girls at the invitation of the Bernadine nuns. Josephine worked as a nurse and raised two girls Caroline and Imogene Salva in New York City. For the last two years Josephine lived with her two daughters in PA and Colorado. She recently returned to India where she was reconciled with former Polish Exiles after seventy two years. On May 8th she passed away in Westminster, Colorado, three days after her return from India. Josephine is survived by her daughters, Imogene Salva and her husband Brian Flynn, and Caroline Salva Romero and her husband Rene Romero, her grandchildren Krystian Salva, Carolina Salva, Josephine Romero, John Paul Romero, Janina Romero and Amalia Romero, and her great grandchildren Anthony Hanson and Jade Lynn Romero. She is also survived by her sisters Janka Gotner and Hela Taruc, who live in Poland. Josephine was preceded in death by her sister Jadwiga Nowicka, known as Sister Reginata, and her brothers Joseph and Tadeusz Nowicki. Josephine was preceded in death by her sister, Sr. Reginata Nowicka, and her brothers Joseph Nowicki and Tadek Nowicki. A Visitation will be Friday, October 12th, from 5PM – 7PM, concluding with the Rosary at 7PM, at Horan & McConaty Family Chapel 9998 Grant Street in Thornton.
