Obituary of Marguerite Jurczynski

Schenectady - Marguerite Therese Hebert Jurczynski, 91, of Kingsway Arms Nursing Home on Kings Road, passed away peacefully on January 2, 2017 after a protracted decline from dementia of the Alzheimer's type and ultimately from complications of a stroke suffered on December 4, 2016. Marguerite was born on Wylie Street in Schenectady on November 15, 1925, the third of eight children born to Imelda LaBranche Hebert born in Deschaillons-sur-Saint-Laurent, Quebec and Elie Hebert whose family settled in Schenectady in the early 1900s after moving from N. Adams, MA. In the Canadian-French tradition Marguerite was always known by her middle name, Therese. She attended St. Columba's School on Craig Street through the 5th Grade, Halsey School on Steuben Street for the 6th Grade, and finally for 7th & 8th Grade at Central Park School on Elm Street where her formal education ended temporarily (she would earn her GED 30 years later) when her family moved to a 100-acre farm in Duanesburg in the summer of 1941. There she dedicated herself to assisting her parents in caring for her younger siblings and addressing the rigors of country living in a time without electricity or running water. Years later she would proudly recall making butter in a churn with fresh milk from their cows and selling what the family did not use for ten cents a pound. Therese worked as a cutter grinder at General Electric Building 40 during World War II and continued working there until after she married Joseph L. Jurczynski in 1947 and had the first of her eight children in 1948. She was a devoted wife and mother, who always found time to laugh with her children, whom she raised in the house in which she was born. Beyond her domestic responsibilities, Therese was tirelessly active in the Hamilton Hill community. Not only did she deliver newspapers for a son who was hobbled by a broken leg, but she solicited petitions to post traffic control signs on Wylie Street and became a mainstay in Project Safe, an organization that aided disadvantaged young people. And as the mother of two handicapped sons, Therese became involved with Camp Clover Patch in the 1960s and remained involved with what was to become the Center for Disability Services until late in her life. Therese lost her husband of 52 years in 1999 and leaves behind her eight children, Joseph G. Jurczynski (Sandra Oliveri) of Pattersonville; Leo T. Jurczynski of Schenectady; Gerard E. Jurczynski (Audrey Sylor) of Guilderland; Anna M. Jurczynski (Marc Martin) of Wilmington, NC; Mary M. Jurczynski (Bill LaRonde) of Charlotte, NC; Albert P. Jurczynski (Maria Marrotta) of Schenectady; David J. Jurczynski (Donna Carlino) of Guilderland; and Thomas J. Jurczynski of Albany; 19 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Special thanks are extended to the Kingsway Arms staff for their compassionate competence and caring that infused quiet dignity into the waning days of Therese's life. Viewing will be held at Daly Funeral Home, 242 McClellan Street on Friday, January 6, 2017 between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. A funeral Mass will be held at St. Luke's Church at 9 a.m. on January 7, 2017. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Luke's Church Building Fund or to the Center for Disability Services Foundation, 22 Corporate Woods Blvd., 5th Floor, Albany, NY 12211.