Lily (Svoboda) Godlewski was born June 16, 1920 in Plum Borough, Pennsylvania to Jan and Mary (Javorek) Svoboda. She attended schools in Curtisville and West Deer Township, Pennsylvania. In 1945 she married Stanley Godlewski and the couple settled in Curtisville and raised their family. Following Stanley’s illness and death, Lily moved to Twin Lakes, Wisconsin to be near daughter Elaine. In 2002 she moved to Laramie to be near daughters Joyce and Denise. In Laramie she lived at Laramie Senior Housing, Spring Wind and the Laramie Care Center where she resided until her death on May 30, 2019.
Lily belonged to the American Legion of Twin Lakes, the Czechoslovakian Society of America and Saint Paul’s Newman Center in Laramie. She enjoyed bowling, cooking, playing cards with friends and spending time with her children and grandchildren. She also enjoyed traveling with her family to Europe and throughout the United States.
Survivors include daughters Joyce (Keith) Miller and Denise Godlewski of Laramie and Elaine Wagner of Fox Lake, Illinois; grandchildren Jenny (Will) Lewis, Spring Grove, Illinois; Dylan (Sue) Paschke, Seattle; Sherry (Don) Wolf, Woodstock, Illinois; Matt (Nicole) Wagner, Chicago; and Heather (Aaron) Pocock, Clyde, Ohio; ten great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Stanley, parents Mary and Jan Svoboda, sisters Mary Rishlink and Ann Lazur and brothers Joseph and Rudolph Svoboda.
Services and burial will be held in Russellton, Pennsylvania on June 7, 2019. Memorial contributions may be made to Ark Regional Services in Laramie, Wyoming.
I knew Lily from Laramie Care. I volunteered to help with bingo once a week and always enjoyed visiting with her! I also helped take some of the women to church last summer, we had a little wheelchair train wheeling over to the Newman Center. It was always such a pleasure when she joined us! I always enjoyed Lily and miss her lovely smile! Take care to you all!
To the Family, I want to express how sorry to read about your loss. Losing a family member can be very painful. When I lost my father, I found comfort in what the Bible teaches. I fully believe, as the Bible teaches, that God will restore paradisaic conditions to our earth and that he yearns to bring back to life on earth those who have died—including our family members. (Job 14:14, 15; John 5:28, 29) We can look forward to the day when we will hold and embrace them again. Every time we hear the word “paradise,” that hope warms our hearts! In the meantime, we can take comfort in the fact that they are in God’s memory. I hope the same thoughts may bring your family comfort in dealing with your loss.
So sorry to hear of Lily's passing. She was an awesome lady and I sure enjoyed all of the time I was able to spend with her. Lily was always "fun" to visit with, and I will always treasure the friendship we had.
Joyce, I was very saddened to read your mom had passed away. I only met her once at the bank, but I truly enjoyed my conversation with her. She was glad that she moved to Laramie to be closer to her family. Thoughts and prayers to all.