Tekla Maciejowska

Tekla Maciejowska, a long-time resident of South Bound Brook, New Jersey, has passed away peacefully on November 1, 2024, at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Somerville, New Jersey. Tekla lived with her daughter, son-in-law, two granddaughters, and spent her final days surrounded by the love of her family. She was 94 years old.

Tekla was born June 23, 1930, in Izby, Poland, a Lemko ethnographic region, the youngest of five children of Anton Maciejowski and Maria Plaskon. Tekla and her family survived two world wars, and the forced relocation of the Lemko people from their ancestral land. In the years that followed, Tekla remained deeply devoted to Lemkivshcyna, and it remained close to her heart.

Having been widowed in 1972, she visited the United States where she stayed with her paternal uncle and his wife. Tekla came to permanently reside in New Jersey, becoming a naturalized citizen in 1996. She was briefly employed by Sunshine Biscuits in Sayreville and retired from Carter-Wallace in Cranbury.

Predeceased by her siblings and parents, her husband Michal, and daughter-in-law Celina, Tekla is survived by daughter Lidia and her husband Reverand Fr. Oleh Hucul, son Jan Maciejewski, grand-children Anna Maciejewska-Sołowińska and Maciej Maciejewski together with Anna’s spouse Tomasz Sołowiński, Aleksandra Hucul Hila and Elizabeth Hucul with their respective spouses Juli Hila and Antonio Montenegro Bazan, great-grandchildren Maja and Milena Maciejewski, Zosia Sołowińska and Emmelia Montenegro Hucul, as well as numerous nieces and nephews here in the United States and abroad.

Tekla enjoyed many hobbies. She was, perhaps, most famous for her gardening. Springs and summers were filled with life: blooming tulips, pale pink peonies, ripe tomatoes, raspberry jams, and towering sunflowers.

Tekla was a talented knitter and embroiderer. Her legacy lives in the many sweaters, blankets, and mended clothing her family holds dear.

At family events, you could often find Tekla behind a camera. Her happiness was capturing joyful moments with her family, friends, and loved ones.

A long-time member of the Ukrainian Orthodox Memorial Church of St. Andrew The-First-Called-Apostle in South Bound Brook, New Jersey, Tekla enjoyed attending Sunday and holiday services, and volunteered her time with her local chapter of the United Ukrainian Orthodox Sisterhoods. On Tuesday afternoons, Tekla could be found in the church hall kitchen, pinching varenyky with her friends and Sisterhood members.

A talented baker, Tekla’s confections adorned holiday tables. Traditional Christmas cookies, Easter Paska, and cakes were enjoyed by her family and friends. She invited her grandchildren to join her in the kitchen, where she lovingly taught them how to bake. Her handwritten recipes will be treasured.

Tekla, above all, was devoted to culture and tradition, instilling a pride of heritage in her children and grandchildren. She would recount family histories, preserved the Lemko language, and sang folk songs. On Christmas holidays, Tekla would lead the table in carols, and proudly knew all the verses that had been passed down generations.

Funeral arrangements are through Hagan-Chamberlain Funeral Home, of Bound Brook, New Jersey. Funeral Service will be held on Friday, November 08, 2024, at 12:00 PM at the Ukrainian Orthodox Memorial Church of St. Andrew The-First-Called-Apostle in South Bound Brook, New Jersey, followed by burial in the adjacent cemetery. Parastas service and viewing to be held the evening prior, November 07, 2024, at 7:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Andrew’s Cemetery Fund.

Tekla is loved deeply and will be missed and remembered always.