SZMONKO Anna (Semenow) of Dedham, passed away on April 30, 2025. Beloved wife of the late Simon Szmonko. Devoted mother of Nick Szmonko and his wife Ellen of Waltham. Loving grandmother of Sydney Festa and Isaac Szmonko. Sister of the late Alexandra Poltawes. Also survived by several nieces and nephews.
Anna was born in a small village outside of Krakow, Poland in 1930. During WWII, at the age of thirteen, she was sent to a forced labor camp in Germany, where she was placed on a farm to work. Her sister and parents were sent to separate work camps, each six miles away in opposite directions, so she did not see her family often.
After the war, she married Simon Szmonko in 1950, and they emigrated to the United States in 1952 arriving at Ellis Island on the General C H Muir.
The family settled on Shawmut Ave in Boston’s South End, with her parents, Simon and Anastazia. In April 1963, they purchased a home and all moved to Dedham, MA.
Anna worked as a seamstress doing piecework and eventually landed a job in the sewing room at the New England Baptist Hospital from which she retired in 1992.
Every summer, she went to Cleveland to pick fresh blueberries with her sister and nieces, which led to may delicious baked goods for all.
She loved her grandchildren fiercely, and they loved to visit her and stay overnight. She taught them little Russian and made clothes for them in her spare time.
Anna took them to church regularly and was very active in the sisterhood of the Holy Epiphany Russian Orthodox Church until her age no longer allowed her to bake her famous bread and cheese baklava for every function at the church.
Visiting hours will be held at the P.E. Murray - F.J. Higgins, George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home 2000 Centre St. West Roxbury on Friday, May 9th from 3-6pm, followed by a “Panakhida” (service for the departed) at the Holy Epiphany Russian Orthodox Church, 963 South St. Roslindale at 7pm. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, May 10th at the church at 10am. Interment Gardens Cemetery. Expressions of sympathy may be made in Anna's memory to the Holy Epiphany Russian Orthodox Church 963 South St. Roslindale, MA 02131.