Pauline B. Dobrowolski

Pauline B. Dobrowolski, 98, formerly of Hillside, N.J., passed away on July 28, 2024, at Bartley Healthcare Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jackson, N.J. Visitation will be on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, from 4-7 PM at Union Funeral Home – Lytwyn & Grillo, 1600 Stuyvesant Avenue, Union, N.J. A Catholic Prayer Service will be offered at 6 PM. Cremation will be private.

Born Pauline Barbara Mikolajczyk in Newark, NJ, on April 19, 1926, the daughter of the late Franciszek (Frank) and Katarzyna (Katharine) Parfaniuk Mikolajczyk, she was raised in Newark and Irvington. She was a graduate of St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic School and Irvington High School. She joined hands in marriage with Joe Dobrowolski in 1949. The couple resided on 18th Avenue, Irvington, N.J., for many years, where they raised their son, Frank, and cared for their nephew, Robert. She later moved to Hillside, N.J., in 1980, where she resided until 2017, when she moved to Jackson. She was retired from Duro Manufacturing Co. of Elizabeth, NJ.

Pauline was lovingly called “Cioci” (the Polish word for aunt) by her many nieces and nephews. She devotedly took care of many of her family members throughout her life and loved them fiercely. She possessed a quick wit and amusingly coarse sense of humor, which endeared her to all who met her. She was also a remarkable cook whose Polish dishes, made from scratch, were legendary, and she would often send relatives home with tins full of cookies. She was unapologetically stubborn and always her genuine self. She never held back, neither with what was on her mind or how tightly she hugged her family.

Beloved wife of the late Joseph C. Dobrowolski, doting mother of the late Frank J. Dobrowolski, and loving sister of the late Bill, Joe, Ed, Ted, Sophie, Stanley, Julia, and John Mikolajczyk, she is survived by her devoted niece, Marlene Tokarz, and devoted nephew, Robert King, and their families.