Sophia "Sophie," age 89, passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, in Brandon, FL. Sophie was born in Kamionka, Poland to parents Antoni Wierzchon and Julianna Szulej and was the youngest of three children, which included her brother Stanislaw and sister Maria (Lucjan). The family had a close bond, especially in 1939 when Nazis entered and occupied Poland. Sophie was seven years old. (The horrors she saw made her into the strong, selfless, and most caring woman we all loved.) When she turned sixteen, Sophie moved alone to Lublin to study engineering at Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski (now called Pope John Paul II University of Lublin). Then for eight years she was lead inspector for the union of industrial builders in Lublin. In 1959, Sophie immigrated to the United States to live with her aunt Mimi and cousin Helen in Sarasota, FL, where she attended Manatee Junior College to earn another degree and learn English. In fact, she took regular, core classes to learn English quickly. At the college, she also met her future husband, "Jake," to whom she was married for fifty-three years before his passing in 2017. For part-time work, Sophie was a model for the art students at Ringling Museum. Her full-time job, however, was working in electrical mechanical research, a subdivision of Kennedy Space Center, where she inspected the draft drawings for NASA shuttles. In 1964, Sophie moved to Bloomington, Indiana, when her husband pursued a doctorate degree in Linguistics. She financially assisted by working full-time for RCA as the main inspector of TVs on the assembly line. In 1970, Jake was offered a position to help create the Linguistics department at University of South Florida. Sophie became a stay-at-home mom for her three children while working freelance as a Polish translator. She is preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and her siblings. She is survived by her three children, Jacob Jr. (Margarida), Yvonne (Kurt), and Kim, her grandson, Dylan, her brother-in-law, William Sr. (Shelia), along with nieces and nephews: Sophia, Chelly, Frances, Sheila, Andrzej, Kazimierz, William Jr., Andrew, and loved ones in Poland. Graveside services will be held on November 18 at 1 pm with the viewing on November 17 from 5-7 pm at Serenity Meadows Memorial Park, 6919 Providence Road, Riverview, FL. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers a tribute donation to the Alzheimer's Association. There is also a gofundme account.

https://gofund.me/5dee053e