Stefan Dimitri Michalski, husband of Rosemary (née Hamilton), and father to Ian Michalski and Margot Michalski, passed away on Feb. 17, 2019 in Greenwich. As described by his English nephew, Stefan was “funny, erudite, fascinating and, like all of his generation, tough.”
Stefan was born Jan. 3, 1924 in Vilnius, Lithuania (at that time Poland) to Stefan A. Michalski and Maria Eleonora (née Korybut-Daszkiewicz). Stefan and his five siblings resided in Warsaw and Vilnius until 1939. At that time, Stefan, then 15 years old, joined his father, a Director for the Bank of Poland, who was appointed to escort the Bank of Poland’s gold reserve shipments out of Poland to France and then on to West Africa to escape Nazi Germany’s confiscation of Poland’s gold reserves. Stefan eventually travelled to England to join the Polish Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF), as a fighter pilot.
Stefan met his future wife, Rosemary, who was a WAAF in the RAF. They fell in love and were married in London on April 23, 1947. They lived in London until 1952 when they moved to the United States. They lived in Buffalo, N.Y.; Silver Spring, Md.; and Greenwich, CT. Stefan worked for two local newspapers, including the Washington Post. However for most of his career, Stefan was a real estate broker for Shannon & Luchs, acquired by Weichert, and then Long and Foster Realtors, all located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. After Stefan and Rosemary retired, they moved to Greenwich, CT with their son, Ian.
Stefan is survived by his children, Ian Michalski and Margot Michalski of Greenwich, CT; his sister, Anna Zouganelli and her family of Athens and Mykonos, Greece; his brother-in-law, Valentine Smith and his family of Bath and London, United Kingdom; and his sister-in-law, LuAnn Mckinney of Silver Spring, Md.
A celebration of life gathering will be announced. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Abilis, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving people with special needs. (abilis.us)
