Barbara Joanna Syska

Barbara Joanna Syska (née Mikołajczak), known to her family and many friends as “Babcia,” passed away on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 in Silver Spring, Maryland. She was ninety-seven years old.

Barbara was born on May 24, 1927, in Białystok, Poland.  At the age of twelve her happy childhood was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II when both the German and Soviet armies invaded Poland. Her older brother Antoni Jan, whom she adored, was taken to a labor camp in Siberia. Later, Antoni Jan served as a navigator in Polish Squadrons 305 and 301 but sadly he was killed in an accident just as the war was coming to an end. Barbara herself, at age sixteen, served as a courier in the Armia Krajowa, or Polish Home Army. After the fall of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, she was sent to three different POW internment camps in Germany. In the spring of 1945, she was liberated from the Oberlangen camp by General Maczek’s Polish 1st Armored Division. For her military service, the Polish government awarded Barbara the Cross of Valor, the Silver and Bronze Crosses of Merit with Swords, and the Medal of the Polish Army. Upon her release from POW camp, Barbara was enrolled in the Polish 2nd Corps female high school in Porto San Giorgio, Italy. She then moved with the 2nd Corps to England, where she matriculated. In England she met and married her husband of fifty-six years, Ryszard Syski.

In 1961 Barbara and Ryszard immigrated to the United States when Ryszard took a position as Professor of Statistics at the University of Maryland. There Barbara earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. Barbara and Ryszard raised their six children in Silver Spring, Maryland, passing on to them a strong appreciation of their Polish heritage. Barbara was active in the Polish American community, offering guidance and help to immigrants like herself. She was also deeply invested in her Catholic faith and the Right to Life movement. She was an avid knitter who made and donated thousands of baby blankets to local pregnancy centers and orphanages around the world. To own a knitted “Babcia blanket” along with the matching baby booties is a treasure!

Barbara is predeceased by her husband Ryszard (2007). She is survived by her six children: Marek Syski (Helena), Witold Syski (Evelyn), Maria Bożena Syska, Leszek Syski (Margaret), Buc Syski (Ewa), Mieszko Syski (Jowita); twenty-three grandchildren; and thirty-eight great-grandchildren. Barbara’s family has been richly endowed by her legacy of perseverance, service, and numberless stories of her experiences during World War II.

The Visitation for Barbara will begin at 9:00am on Thursday, August 29th at Our Lady Queen of Poland Parish (St. John the Evangelist Historic Church) on 9700 Rosensteel Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910, followed directly by the funeral mass at 10:00am. Reception to follow at 11:30 am in the cafeteria next to the church. All are cordially welcome! Interment will be at 3:00pm at Salem Cemetery on High Street (formerly Georgia Avenue) in Brookeville, MD 20833.  

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to: The Avalon School, Advancement Office, 11811 Claridge Road, Wheaton, MD 20902; https://www.avalonschools.org/donate.html