Chris Grygiel Memorial Fund
Donation protected
On September 28, 2019, a tragedy suddenly struck the family of Chris and Ewa Grygiel. Chris did not feel well while driving a car on that Saturday afternoon. It was going from bad to worse, so he pulled over and called for help and was taken to Barnes Jewish Hospital. It turned out that a ruptured aneurysm caused a stroke and heart failure. He died on Monday, September 30. Ewa and her sons are completely devastated by what happened. Their lives turned upside down as Chris was the main provider for the family.
Ewa and Chris were high school sweethearts in their native city of Toruń, in Northern Poland. Chris worked there as a technician at Metron (control and measurement engineering firm) and the University of Toruń, and he was also elected as the president of the Polish Democratic Youth Association. Then he was deeply involved in a nascent social movement of Solidarność (Solidarity). Soon after Ewa and Chris got married in 1981 a misfortune came: the martial law, imposed on Polish society on December 13, 1981, crashing political freedom in Poland, directly affected the Grygiel family. Chris, persecuted and beaten by the security service agents, was taken to internment camps and to prison. Shortly after his imprisonment his first son, Tom was born. Chris, however, remained incarcerated for several years. His contribution to fighting for Independent Poland was officially recognized in 2018 when he was awarded a Medal of Merit by the Republic of Poland.
After being released from prison, Chris and Ewa decided to go into exile. They arrive in the United States as political refugees in 1986, and settled in St. Louis metropolitan area. For many years, Chris and Ewa had been living in St. Charles. He had been working there as a manifold technician at an automation company. Responsible and very serious about his family Chris was always open to the needs of others and ready to help.
Chris is survived, in addition to Ewa, by his two sons: Tom, who currently works in the food industry, and Michael, who studies computer engineering.
As friends of the Grygiels, we would like to set up a memorial fund in order to assist Chris’s wife and sons in their time of transition, marked by pain and financial hardship, and help them regain balance in their lives. We ask for your generosity.
Ewa and Chris were high school sweethearts in their native city of Toruń, in Northern Poland. Chris worked there as a technician at Metron (control and measurement engineering firm) and the University of Toruń, and he was also elected as the president of the Polish Democratic Youth Association. Then he was deeply involved in a nascent social movement of Solidarność (Solidarity). Soon after Ewa and Chris got married in 1981 a misfortune came: the martial law, imposed on Polish society on December 13, 1981, crashing political freedom in Poland, directly affected the Grygiel family. Chris, persecuted and beaten by the security service agents, was taken to internment camps and to prison. Shortly after his imprisonment his first son, Tom was born. Chris, however, remained incarcerated for several years. His contribution to fighting for Independent Poland was officially recognized in 2018 when he was awarded a Medal of Merit by the Republic of Poland.
After being released from prison, Chris and Ewa decided to go into exile. They arrive in the United States as political refugees in 1986, and settled in St. Louis metropolitan area. For many years, Chris and Ewa had been living in St. Charles. He had been working there as a manifold technician at an automation company. Responsible and very serious about his family Chris was always open to the needs of others and ready to help.
Chris is survived, in addition to Ewa, by his two sons: Tom, who currently works in the food industry, and Michael, who studies computer engineering.
As friends of the Grygiels, we would like to set up a memorial fund in order to assist Chris’s wife and sons in their time of transition, marked by pain and financial hardship, and help them regain balance in their lives. We ask for your generosity.
Organizer and beneficiary
Monika Zahorska
Organizer
St Louis, MO
Ewa Grygiel
Beneficiary
