Dorothy (Szczepkowski) Babiarz

Dorothy Babiarz, age 85, of Wilmington, DE, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 18, 2022 surrounded by her family.

Dottie was born in Wilmington, daughter of the late Francis and Blanch (Zarnoch) Szczepkowski. She was a graduate of St. Hedwig’s Grade School and St. Paul’s High School. She met the love of her life, the late Edward A. Babiarz, while they both worked at NVF, were married in May of 1962 and started their family shortly thereafter. 

In addition to raising a family, Dottie had an illustrious career as an administrative professional at the DuPont Company/DuPont Pharmaceuticals where she held the distinguished honor of being the first administrative assistant to receive the prestigious Sales Leadership Council award and a two-week trip to Hawaii where the ceremony was held. At the time of her retirement, she had over 25 years of distinguished service.

Dottie was the epicenter of the family,  the consummate mother and grandmother and her children and grandchildren delighted in spending time with her. In the words of her eldest grandson, Edward, “Mommom always made everything better.”

Dottie had a great sense of humor and was always the life of the family gatherings. She especially enjoyed the holidays and started decorating and cooking at least a month in advance, especially authentic Polish dishes as it was important to her to pass on tradition to future generations of her family. The holidays will not be the same without her, but her love for cooking inspired more than one family member and she gladly passed on her recipes and special secrets.

Dottie and her late husband, Eddie, shared a love of Frank Sinatra; their ideal weekend was to have Sinatra on the stereo turned up while they worked in their garden, or were cooking together in the kitchen. Cherished  memories of them dancing together to ‘My Way’ when they thought no one was around will be held close in the hearts of those who loved them.

Dottie was an avid fan of the Dallas Cowboys football team but she would temper her passion to honor her grandson, Eric's love of the Philadelphia  Eagles as it was in her nature to put everyone she loved first.  Dottie was always all about keeping the peace and making everyone feel special. 

Most importantly, Dottie had an unwavering faith in God, and prayed to the Blessed Mother and Saint Anne, patron saint of grandmothers who was her role model; that faith was seamlessly passed down to her children and grandchildren and will sustain them and ground them for the rest of their lives.  

Dottie is survived by her loving daughter, Karen Babiarz and grandsons, Edward and Eric Poore with whom she lived; her daughter, Patricia (Norman Belair), her four beautiful granddaughters, Jessica (Andrew Levin), Stephanie, Angela, and Francesca Kokoszka; her three great-grandchildren, Hannah Danielle, Leah Rose, and James Edward Levin; her beloved sister and best friend, Barbara Morris, her brother Francis Szczepkowski, Jr., and a host of nieces and nephews from the Babiarz and Szczepkowski families. Her beloved pets, pups: Rory, Nala, Darby, and kittens: Jak and Daxter will miss her sneaking them treats under the table. Indeed, she will be dearly missed by all beyond words. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00am on Friday, January 28, 2022, at St. Hedwig’s Church, 408 S. Harrison Street, Wilmington, DE 19805, where family and friends may visit beginning at 10:00am. Interment will be held privately with family in Cathedral Cemetery.

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