We welcome everyone - family and friends - to this very solemn occasion. This is a very difficult time for us, but we have to say farewell to our beloved Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Teresa.
Teresa, one of 6 kids, was born on February 18th, 1937 in a village called Zofiowka in Poland. She was the youngest daughter of Wladyslaw and Emilia Snarski. In a tragic turn, she lost her mother when she was 10 months old, and her older siblings and father took on the responsibility of raising little Teresa. Times were hard during those years for the entire family. Everyone worked hard on the farm, helping their father ensure the entire family was taken care of.
Teresa passed her "matura" (the final exams after high school) at the Liceum in Knyszyn, and at 20 years old, already a young adult lady, met her future husband, Eugene Skibicki, a young man in the next village. They soon got engaged, and a wedding followed in Knyszyn. The newlyweds decided to leave their family home and moved to Wolomin, a suburb on Warsaw. They were thrilled to welcome their first son, Arthur, born in Warswaw. After a few years, they decided that they wanted to make a better life for their young family, and in 1965 they immigrated to Canada. A lot of hard work and a couple of years later, they were able to purchase their first house in the High Park area, and their first car. A few years later, Teresa gave birth to her daughter, Beata - a dream come true for the mom who lost her mom so early.
Teresa spent the next years working full time, raising her children, and volunteering her time in many organizations including the Women Polish Alliance in Canada, the choir of St. Casimir's Parish, as well as the Seniors Club. She worked at Canada Post for over 30 years.
Both Teresa and Eugene's dream was to have a cottage, a 'house far from their house'. They eventually bought a lot, and after a lot of hard and sometimes mundane work, they created their dream. They spent all their summer holidays and weekends at the cottage - which was exactly what they wanted and needed.
Teresa was incredibly hard-working, always was in the middle of doing something, organizing something, helping someone. She couldn't rest until everything that needed to be done was done. Even towards the end of her illness, two days before she left this earth, with a barely audible voice, she asked Arthur if he had watered the flowers and done the laundry. This is exactly how she was, putting everyone and everything above herself. She had an incredibly giving nature, always sympathetic to everyone, with the will to always help. She always put the needs of her family and close friends ahead of her own.
We will remember her as a woman and mother full of life, energy, laughter and generosity. Although we are grieving our beloved Teresa, we know the truth is that God always takes the best first.
