Hickman, Pola (Apolonia)
At the peaceful close of a long life, well-lived, in her 105th year, on September 26, 2021, Pola returned to her Lord to be reunited with her parents, Pawel and Helena Prus; her sisters, Stella Lemanski and Stephanie Holdenmeyer; their husbands Gord Lemanski and Claude Holdenmeyer; her husband, Frank Hickman (1982) and youngest son, Rodney (2018).
She graduated to Guardian Angel status for great-grandchildren: Joshua, Elizabeth and Alexandra Hickman; grand children: Bryan (Jennifer) and Lisa (Steve Chambers) Hickman, Rachel and Sarah Foxall; son David (Barbara); and sister, Dolly (Donelda) Prus. She leaves behind daughter-in-law, Barbie Armstrong, niece, Linda Disik and nephew, Ed Holdenmeyer (Dorothy), as well as several friends from Milton, Willi Goodfellow, and Rhonda MacLachlan. She is missed by longtime friends and associates, Bob and Kathy Borys, Tom and Mary Borys, Eileen McAuliffe and Sue McCarter. She was most grateful to several caregivers of Winston Park Villages, Kitchener, especially Mary Ziegler and those who made the effort to learn some sign language.
Born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1917, she was deafened at age 5, immigrated to Canada in 1927 and was educated at the Ontario School for the Deaf in Belleville. She embarked on a career as a dressmaker, then helped make aircraft wings at Electrohome during the war. After pausing to start her family, she continued at Electrohome until retirement in 1982. Sewing and gardening were her passions. A tireless advocate for the physically challenged, she pioneered TTY service to the deaf, served on the Kitchener Mayor’s Committee for a Barrier-Free Community and several others. Because of these efforts, she received numerous awards and citations from the Waterloo Regional Police Service, the Royal Bank of Canada, the Sertoma Club, the Canadian Hearing Society and others, culminating in the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship presented by Lt. Governor, John Black Aird in 1984. She was a charter life member of the International Catholic Deaf Association.
Pola’s family will receive relatives and friends from 5 -8 p.m. on Friday, October 1st, 2021, at the Henry Walser Funeral Home, 507 Frederick St., Kitchener, 519-749-8467. Funeral Mass will take place at Blessed Sacrament R.C. Church, 305 Laurentian Drive (at Block Line Road), Kitchener, on Saturday, October 2nd, 2021, at 10 a.m. Interment to take place at a later date at Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener. Guests must RSVP to attend Pola’s visitation and/or mass through the funeral home’s website or by calling the funeral home directly. Masks are mandatory.
Pola’s family invites all those who are unable to join the service in person to watch the service via live stream on the funeral home’s website on Saturday, October 2nd, 2021, at 10 a.m. at www.henrywalser.com/live-streaming.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the International Catholic Deaf Association (ICDA) Canadian Section or the Canadian Hearing Society.
Visit www.henrywalser.com for Pola’s memorial.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Apolonia Pola Hickman Sunday September 26th 2021..
Death notice for the town of: Kitchener, Province: Ontario