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NORWALK, Conn. – Jeannette Tyghem Bronkiewicz, formerly of Norwalk, died Feb. 6 at Pope John Paul II Center for Care and Rehabilitation in Danbury. She was 98.
Bronkiewicz was born April 1, 1914, in Paris, France to Jules Tyghem and Jeanne Venault Tyghem. Her father was killed in 1914 in a battle with the French Infantry during World War I.
She was raised in Puteaux, France, where she attended local schools and high school. She worked for the French postal department in St. Cloud. She later worked for a French bank in Paris, where she remained throughout the Nazi occupation of France.
She met Staff Sergeant Julian Bronkiewicz in 1944. On Oct. 10, 1945, they were civilly married in accordance with French law. She and her husband met Archbishop Angelo Roncalli, Pope John XXIII, while seeking to get married in the Catholic Church. Her family said she recollected that memory throughout her life.
Bronkiewicz moved to Norwalk after the end of the war. In 1953, her husband was diagnosed with leukemia. She spent the next four years caring for him until his death on Feb. 17, 1957.
She worked for Loehmann's in Norwalk for more than 25 years before leaving in 1978. She later worked at Isabel Eland in New Canaan for several years. In her retirement, she enjoyed traveling with her friends.
Bronkiewicz is survived by a son, the Rev. Laurence R. Bronkiewicz, Pastor of St. Mary Parish in Ridgefield; a niece, Yannick (Jean Bellier) Coze, of Paris; and numerous cousins.
Visitation is from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Kane Funeral Home in Ridgefield. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 1:15 p.m. Monday at St. Mary Church.
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