Elizabeth T. Musial

Elizabeth (Betty / Ela) Teresa Waclawa Musial passed away July 31, 2024 at 11:15am peacefully at home after a long battle with Adrenal Cancer. She was 86 years old. Betty is survived by her Life Partner of 45 years, Bob Olenzek, three children: Teresa Musial, Marc Musial (Pamela), grandchildren Cody and Sierra Musial, and Isabella Musial, their cats (Kicia and Evie) and grand fur babies (Mały, Lisek, Lotka, Góral, Odin and Ollie, Monkey and Smudge).

Betty was enamored with elephants. The elephant symbolizes strength and wisdom; patience and endurance; family and loyalty; and memory. She embodied and carried these qualities with her throughout her life. She was always happy to provide guidance to those around her drawn from her life experiences. Betty could remember the smallest details dating back to her childhood and never forgot where she came from, the hardships, and always appreciated where she was.

Betty had a gift for languages. Betty was born in Poland, where she lived until 1946. After the war, Betty and her family had to relocate to Germany where she learned German and English. In the 1970s, when her ex-husband was transferred to Mexico for work, she picked up Spanish. Polish (her native language), English and Spanish were ingrained in her memory, but she wasn’t sure about German. In 1993, she and Bob visited her daughter, Iza, in Spain and the 3 traveled around Europe. Once they arrived in Germany, she started speaking to store keepers in German immediately - she never forgot!

Betty was a talented seamstress and made most of her own clothing, even the most gorgeous dresses she was pictured in. She was the height of fashion! Looking back at the pictures taken in the 1960s and 1970s, she always had a beautiful dress on, or trendy capris or gauchos. When in Mexico with the family, she made Teresa and Iza’s clothes, including amazing banana skirts, full length dresses and the cutest costumes. She was elegant in every way.

Betty was a traveler, a scholar, an adventurer, loved her family fiercely, yet always pragmatic. She never met a stranger, never had an enemy, and always made friends everywhere she went. Betty had the gift of gab and could talk to anybody anywhere anytime. She kept in touch with the people from her past as well as the people she met on her travels throughout the years. Even after her ex-husband abandoned the family and left her to care for three children on her own, she maintained a positive attitude. That is one of the many things that made her endearing and special.

As a scholar, Betty earned her Bachelor’s in Bacteriology from Wayne State University (WSU), then went on to earn two Master’s Degrees from Wayne State, Bacteriology and Geography. She attended the University of Michigan School of Medicine for a year, but women were discouraged from becoming doctors at that time, so she chose not to pursue medicine. Her Bacteriology degree provided her the opportunity to intern at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta and obtain a position as a Lab Technician , and .. She was a lifelong learner and continued taking classes except when living abroad. She truly enjoyed learning and reading, whether in English or in Polish.

In 1976, Betty started her engineering career at Chrysler Highland Park Engineering in the Emissions & Fuel Economy Certification department, where she and Bob worked together and where they first met. In 1980, Betty was laid off from Chrysler. With 3 children to care for, she found temporary work at Hania Filipowicz’s travel agency until she returned to Chrysler. Betty retired in 1996 from Jeep Truck Engineering.

Betty never lost touch with her Polish roots, and once she and her parents were settled in Hamtramck, Betty joined Harcerstwo (Polish Scouting) where she met friends that she would have for a lifetime. Eventually her 3 children would become a part of the same organization and travel to world jamborees, making friends from all over the world.

Not only did Betty love elephants, she loved all animals. She was an avid supporter of many animal welfare organizations, both local and national. She first fell in love with cats as a child, and in her later years, she and Bob would eventually own several cats over the years. When her daughter, Iza, started fostering animals, she could not understand why until she volunteered with her for one day in Atlanta. In 2007, Iza moved to Kanab, UT to work for Best Friends Animal Society, adding another cause to Betty’s long list of animal welfare groups.

Ever since she landed in the US, Betty loved to travel. In the early days, her parents and she would visit every state between Michigan and California, she also went to Quebec for the 1967 World Fair. In 1958, she took an ocean liner, the Batory, back to Poland to visit her family. On the way there / back, the boat stopped at ports in Copenhagen, France, Iceland, and the UK and she was able to explore new countries. By 1965, Betty had traveled throughout Europe, Turkey, and Morocco. When Betty’s ex-husband was transferred to Mexico in 1972, they traveled extensively throughout Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala. In 1974, Betty, her ex-husband, 3 children and parents set off to Germany to pick up a yellow VW Camper her father purchased. With 4 adults and 3 children, the family traveled around Europe in that one camper! They visited Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, Hungary, former Yugoslavia, former Czechoslovakia, Austria, with their final stop in Poland where they visited family.

Betty also enjoyed camping. She and her ex-husband pitched their tent throughout Europe. They would take their 3 children camping around the US, and instilled the love of nature in each one. In 1967, when her father purchased property on Lake Michigan, Betty would organize camping gatherings with her friends and their families at the Lake, where the memories live on, and where her children continued to share the beauty of Lake Michigan with their friends and family.

But her adventures had only just begun! In 1979, after meeting Bob, she started to truly explore the world with a new fervor. Together, they traveled throughout the US and Canada either in the VW Camper or an RV. They fell in love with the Southwest, especially Canyonlands (UT). Their mutual interests drew them to visit 47 National Parks & Monuments in the continental US. They also used these trips to visit her daughters as they moved around the country (Iza in Georgia, Utah, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Colorado; Teresa in Florida, Washington, and New Mexico).

Betty and Bob also enjoyed off-roading. They would tow their jeep behind their RV and find themselves on some marvelous paths! Once, when they were off-roading in the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, they got the Jeep stuck on a snow pile and ended up having to hike back out to the main road, but because it was late, they slept in the forest overnight, starting a fire with the only map they had in the car. When they were off-road, there was never a shortage of adventures!

They also ventured overseas and visited every continent with the exception of Antarctica. Betty decided that Antarctica was too cold! Betty’s favorite vacation was when they visited Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe where she felt like she was inside a National Geographic special. It was then when her love of elephants began, when she first laid eyes on and had the opportunity to ride an African elephant. Betty rode elephants in Thailand and India as well, but her favorite was always the African elephant with his big ears! Betty and Bob were fortunate enough to take the last Indonesian cruise that circled the Indonesian islands, stopping at various ports.

Overall, during their 45 years traveling together, Betty and Bob visited all 50 states and made it around the world, traveling East and West to Kuala Lumpur, although not in the same year. They visited 61 countries, rode camels and elephants, flew in prop plane over the Nazca lines where Bob got quite sick, went to Machu Picchu, spent time in Patagonia, met cannibals in Papua New Guinea, floated down the Amazon, sailed by Colombian Glaciers, walked on the Great Wall of China, held a baby Panda, saw the Great Barrier Reef, went ziplining, toured Angkor Wat, almost visited Myanmar but were turned away due to military tensions with Thailand, lounged on the beaches of Phuket, wandered through Petra, awed at the Great Pyramids, and bought loads of locally made jewelry and t-shirts! Betty lavished her travels and always encouraged everyone to travel as much as they can when they are young enough that they can enjoy it and see more places. She always said not wait until retirement.

But, of all the things that filled Betty’s heart, her grandchildren, Cody and Sierra, were the biggest joy in her life. They were her world! When they were babies, Betty, Bob, Marc and Pam traveled the Bahamas and Mexico on a family vacation and planned all their trips to the Southwest together, spending time in Utah with Iza, then driving down to Santa Fe to visit Teresa. Betty and Bob even moved to Leonard to be close to their grandchildren and spend as much time as possible with them. Instead of driving 1+ hour each way to see them, they now were only 2.5 miles away, which allowed them to attend each concert, track meet and support the kids during ski race season.

Betty’s love for learning and travel was transferred to her grandchildren, Cody and Sierra, who have taken on her passion for exploring and learning as much about the world as they can. Even when not traveling with Betty, Cody and Sierra were always asking questions about her travels, taking it all in, and no doubt, making their own bucket lists. They are already avid travelers having visited over 30 national parks and traveled to 4 continents, all before they were 18. Betty has instilled such a great sense of adventure, that they will carry her passion and stories with them always. Betty was always there to share her adventures, offer a life lesson or encouragement.

When she wasn’t traveling, Betty enjoyed spending time with her family and tending to her beloved plants and flowers. She always had a green thumb and they thrived under her care. She also enjoyed relaxing on the back deck in their Leonard house, watching the birds and squirrels as they ate from the feeders, watching the egrets, cranes, herons, and turkey vultures fly overhead, or waiting to see the deer, wild turkeys, or groundhogs wander into their yard . In the evenings, Betty and Bob would sit outside and listen to the peepers, frogs, owls and cranes at night. This house, that Betty fell in love with at first sight, was their retreat. She was the happiest here until the end.

But life did not start out great for Betty . She was born to Waclaw and Regina Madalinski in Tłuszcz, Poland on February 20, 1938, just 6 and 1/2 months before the Germans invaded Poland on September 1st, 1939. Shortly thereafter, Russia invaded Poland on September 17, 1939. At the start of the war, her father was in the Polish Army and mobilized to the front, leaving her mother to care for Betty while pregnant with twins. As the war escalated, and approached their town (Skierniewice), her mother headed east towards Kozice, her hometown. While on the road her mother gave birth to twins, who unfortunately did not survive.

After seven weeks, the defense of Poland collapsed, instead of surrendering and being interred to a prisoner of war camp, her father snuck back to Kozice. Because he was in hiding, he assumed the identity of his uncle who had passed away a few months previously. Shortly after arriving back in Kozice, her father joined the Polish Underground and helped establish at least 5 resistance cells. Because it was dangerous to remain in places where her father was known, the family moved back to Tłuszcz.

By July, 1942, the family had moved to Wołomin where Betty’s little sister, Ewa, was born (October 1942) and where Betty started attending pre-school. The following year Betty’s father built a bunker in the yard where they spent many hours during the air raids. Betty’s father continued his work with the Polish Underground, helping families escape Poland and obtaining guns for the Polish Home Army. Over the years, there were many “aunts and uncles” who visited as they traveled to safety, even a Jewish family who lived in the cellar for a short time until they could get to safety.

In the fall of 1943, Betty’s father was arrested by the Gestapo. Upon arrest, the Gestapo proceeded to interrogate her father by trying to beat a confession out of him using clubs. He was strong and never cracked. Her father carried scars from that as well as subsequent beatings for the rest of his life. During this time, Betty’s sister died of pneumonia. She was 1 year and 1 day old.

As his train left, her father scribbled a note stating they were being taken to Auschwitz and tossed it out the window hoping someone would find it and give it to her mother. Luckily someone did and delivered the note. Her father was alive but heading towards Auschwitz, the most feared concentration camp. He was eventually transported to Dachau and later onto Mauthausen-Gusen in Austria. Over the years, Betty’s mother would send packages with uninviting yet nutritious foods to her father which helped her father survive the concentration camps. She also included cigarettes which her father traded for scraps of food.

In 1944, the Germans forcibly evacuated the residents from their homes and marched everyone, including Betty, her mother, two aunts and grandmother, toward the Russian front, using the precession as a decoy for the German army. Thinking they were German soldiers, the Russians dropped several bombs, killing many of the town’s residents. Eventually, the Germans started getting lax and Betty, her mother, two aunts and grandmother were able to escape by hiding in a barn. Walking through fields, they eventually came across some Hungarian soldiers who fed and housed them overnight and drew them a map of how to reach the Russian front line. This path required walking in a single file through a minefield, where Betty took the lead. The Germans and Russians spotted them and began shooting, and they were caught under the crossfire. As they approached the Russian front, Betty waved a white handkerchief on a stick and safely crossed the Russian line. They were debriefed by the Russians and let go. From there, they continued the long walk back to their house in Wołomin.

While in Wołomin mortars were being shot toward Warsaw, with shells landing in the small town. The Russian rockets were burning Warsaw, and at night, Betty used to read just with the light of the Warsaw fires, which was just 20 km away.

Around May 1944, Betty’s mother moved back to Kozice then to Kutno. In 1945, her mother obtained a teaching position in Solec, so Betty and her mother moved in above the classrooms. This was the first time Betty had attended “regular” school. Because the German forces closed schools from 1940 to 1945, Betty's classmates ranged from 6 years of age to 16.

Betty and her mother were aware that the war had ended May 1945, and that the Allied armies liberated the prisoners from concentration camps. In 1946, Betty’s father sent them a letter from Germany. He had wanted to come home, but because he was in the Polish Underground, he could not return to Poland. That Spring, Betty’s father arranged for her and her mother to be smuggled out of Poland across the then Czechoslovakian border, and eventually arriving in Muna, Germany.

In the fall of 1946, Betty’s father organized a school in the company to help provide his company a better future. Betty attended this school where her parents were both teachers, and completed the fourth, fifth and sixth grade in less than two years. That winter, one of the soldiers brought Betty a kitten, marking the moment Betty’s love for animals started.

In 1948, Betty’s parents and her father’s company moved to Frankfurt, leaving Betty in Muna living alone in their house in the care of a local German woman who would spend the night and cook and clean for Betty. Her mother came home every Friday evening and left Sunday evening to spend weekends with her. Betty’s kitten would greet her mother at the train station every Friday and walk home with her, and on Sundays, the kitten would escort her mother back to the train station! On one occasion, while her parents were back in Muna, they noticed that Betty had pierced her ears. Her ears were infected, her mother was incredibly upset, but Betty wanted her ears pierced, and without her parents there, who could object?

In June 1949, Betty and her parents were transferred to a transit camp in Ludwigsburg, near Stuttgart, while they waited to have their papers verified and pass a health screening before immigrating to the US. Due to medical delays, it was 6 weeks before they were finally cleared to be taken to Bremen, another transit camp. Betty and her parents waited another 10 days and were screened again. They finally boarded the train and arrived in the Bremen-Haven Port where they boarded their ship to the US, The General SS Ballou.

After 10+ days, Betty and her parents reached Ellis Island, New York where Betty’s mothers uncle was waiting to take them to Detroit. They lived with this uncle until October, 1949, when they moved to Hamtramck. Betty attended Our Lady Queen of Apostles until 8th grade and graduated from St. Florian High School one year early and at the top of class in 1958. However, because Betty was foreign-born, the high school would not allow her to be valedictorian.

In 1958, Betty returned to Poland for the first time after WWII. She would spend the next few months visiting family and getting reacquainted. That’s when she reconnected with Leszek Musial, started a relationship, and eventually were married. During their 15 years together, they had three children (Teresa, Marc, Isabella), became an integral part of the Polish Community, Scout Leaders, and travelers. In 1977, Betty and Les divorced, and with the help of her parents, Betty raised their children.

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A memorial mass will be held on Friday, September 20th, 2024 at St. Blase Catholic Church, 12151 15 Mile Road, Sterling Heights, MI 48312. Mass will begin at 9:30am, with visitation starting at 9:00am.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Michigan Animal Rescue League (MARL) in memory of Elizabeth Musial.