Martha L. (Slawinski) Syrnick

Martha was born October 14, 1922 to Leon and Frances Slawinski. She grew up on East Street with her parents and older sister Josephine in the Wissahickon/Manayunk section of Philadelphia. Her parents owned the local butcher shop, so her household was always busy. She grew up with a number of St. Bernard dogs who were her beloved pets. Martha attended St. Josephphat's Catholic grade school in Manayunk. It was an unusual school where morning lessons were taught in Polish and afternoon lessons were in English, only to be reversed midway through the school year. After grade school, Martha attended Roxborough High School. Martha and her family made it through the Great Depression, with better days coming ahead.

Martha met and fell in love with Stephen Syrnick. However, Steve was in the military and fought in Europe during WWII. Luckily he made it back home unscathed. In May 1946, Martha and Steve married. They bought a car and went on many road trips in the States and Canada. They bought a home in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia where they lived for nearly 60 years. In the 1950's, they had two daughters, Maureen and Nancy. Martha left her job at Tastykake to raise her girls. After the girls got older, Martha returned to Tastykake. You could always tell when they were making lemon pies. Martha would come home and pleasantly smelled like lemons.

Martha retired in the late 1970's. She loved spending time with her granddaughter Jennifer, and Jennifer's golden retriever, Teddybear. Martha and Steve continued to live in their family home until 2010, when they moved to Lambertville, New Jersey. Steve passed away in 2013. They were married 67 years. Martha continued to live in Lambertville until 2020. After a difficult hospitalization including surgery, Martha became a resident of Care One at Moorestown in March, 2020 also the beginning of the pandemic. While at CareOne she looked forward to occasional sightings of Cooper the cat and the horses walking through the driveway on their way back to the barns behind Care One. She celebrated her 100th birthday last month with a wonderful party with all her favorite Polish foods. Now Steve can be reunited with his "sweetheart" again.

Relatives and friends are invited to Viewing on Monday, November 28, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Church, 146 Rector St., Philadelphia. A Funeral Mass will follow at 10:30 a.m. Interment in Westminster Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters,
Convent of Divine Love
2212 Green St.
Philadelphia, PA 19130-3197
Phone: 215-567-0123

Condolences may be shared at www.kollerfuneralhome.com
 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Martha L. (Slawinski) Syrnick, please visit our floral store.