Sophie K. Rossi – Woodd's Obituary
Sophie K. Rossi-WooddMay 15, 1921 – August 11, 2012Sophie was born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut, the daughter of Polish immigrants, Eva Batura Krasniewicz Dziedzicki and Jacob Krasniewicz. She was a recent resident of Oakland, California, having previously resided in San Francisco, Southern California, New Orleans and on Bayou Lafourche in Louisiana. She died, peacefully, of natural causes, surrounded by her children, in Oakland, California.Sophie proudly served in the WAVES (Women’s Naval Auxiliary) during World War II and afterwards honed her secretarial skills at business school. She used these skills to support herself and her family and she worked for many different employers throughout the United States, and abroad in the Azores. Sophie was passionate about golf, and her other interests included reading, calligraphy and decorative arts and crafts. She was a mean Rummikub player and an early wheat germ aficionado. Her grandchildren benefited from her interest in sharing her Polish language and culture, and her patience and love for them manifested itself in many Harry Potter read-alouds, endless games of “Traffic”, and “magic apples”.Sophie was the devoted mother of Diana Rossi and Dan Rossi, special mother-in-law of Jeff Goldthorpe and Robin Miller, and cherished grandmother of Arturo, Talia, Rosa and Benji, who were the “greatest joy” of her life, all of Berkeley, California. She also leaves behind two beloved sisters, Jean Pietrzkiewicz and Frances Bobinski, both of Stamford, Connecticut. “Zosh” was a much-loved aunt to many nieces and nephews.Along with her parents, Sophie was predeceased by her first husband Art Rossi, her second husband John Woodd, her sister Stella Krasniewicz Maurer, her brothers Michael (Spike) Krasniewicz and Walter (Bucky) Krasniewicz, and her stepfather Konstance (Connie) Dziedzicki.At her request, services will be private, and in lieu of flowers a donation in Sophie’s memory can be made to: Cazadero Music Camp at http://www.cazadero.org/; the USO at http://www.uso.org/; the San Francisco SPCA at http://www.sfspca.org/; or a donation of your choice.She will be greatly missed. Do widzenia, Pani Zosia!
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