Maria Dadlez

December 7, 1930 - April 18, 2018

A woman of unfailing love and unrelenting strength, Maria Dadlez passed away peacefully on April 18 at the age of 87. She was born in Kolomyia, Poland on December 7, 1930, (before the WWII border shifts), to Franciszek Brink and Zofia Leligdowicz Brink. Due to the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact, she and her parents were among the over one million Poles, both Jew and Gentile alike, who were deported to regions such as Kazakhstan where they were forced into slave labor until their release in the fall of 1942. For the next six years, she lived in refugee camps in Iran and British India. She then traveled to Great Britain where she attended the University of Whales in Cardiff before marrying her husband, Mark in 1950. They immigrated to the United States soon afterwards, where they made their family and their lives and became American citizens in 1951. Maria was best remembered by friends and family as a staunch advocate of the right to life, the right to faith, and to family, and she showed this by belonging to such groups as The Sodality of Mary, Daughters of Isabella, Birthright International, Orchard Lake Ladies Auxiliary, and various pro-life groups with each parish she belonged to. Between the years 1976 and 1989 she did so while also building a career in Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc; becoming a director after her first three years in the company. To everyone who knew her, she was a true symbol of great strength and courage. Maria is survived by a large and loving family, including her husband of 67 years, retired Catholic Deacon Mark Dadlez; her seven children: Peter, Christopher and wife Eileen Dadlez, Anna and husband Terry Woodall, Thaddeus and wife Julie Dadlez, John and wife Shannon Dadlez, Paul and wife Kady Dadlez, Teresa and husband Mark Vandal; her brother-in-law and sister-in-law Thomas and Anna Dadlez of Michigan; her four nieces: Eva and her husband James Mock, Ola Dadlez, Dorothy and her husband Terry Stevens, their two sons Eric and Jacob Stevens and their families and Margaret O’Brien and her daughter Kristine; her nineteen grandchildren: Laura, her husband Joe Bird and their children Aubrey and Jameson, Nina Dadlez, her husband David Kleiman and their son Nathan, Alisa Woodall, Thomas Vandal and his fiancée Erica Day, Gregory and his wife Kristyn Dadlez, Luke Dadlez, Alana Dadlez, Vanessa Dadlez, Mariah Dadlez, Jude Dadlez, Eve Dadlez, Angela Dadlez, Molly Dadlez, Peter Dadlez, Zophia Dadlez, Michael Dadlez, Joseph Dadlez, Rose Dadlez, and Matthew Dadlez. She is very much loved and she will be truly missed. Calling hours will be held on Sunday, April 29 between the hours of 3:00 and 5:00 PM. at Molloy Funeral Home, 906 Farmington Avenue West Hartford, Connecticut. The funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, April 30 at 10:00 AM at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 872 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford, Connecticut. Burial will follow in Mt. St. Benedict Cemetery, Bloomfield. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Mary’s Meals USA https://www.marysmealsusa.org or Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, 114 Woodland St. Hartford, CT 06105. Directions and online expressions of sympathy may be made at www.molloyfuneralhome.com