My Paternal Aunt

Edwina Dorothy Koper was born at home on February 9, 1918 in Detroit, Michigan to Polish immigrant, John Koper & 1st generation Polish American, Katherine Dolecki Koper.

Edwina's unique name was a tribute to her brother Edward, better known as Eddie to the family.
Eddie had passed away on October 1, 1917 while his mother, Katherine was 5 months pregnant.

Dorothy Koper married Anthony E. Zuzga in a civil ceremony on July 9, 1938 in Detroit, Michigan.

Dorothy passed away on Monday, October 12, 2009. She had been ill & hospitalized several times after breaking her hip, over the last year.

Beloved Mother of Anthony F. Zuzga, Patricia (the late Charles) Marshall, Cornell Zuzga, Laura, & Cathy (Chris) Marshall.

Beloved Grandmother of 10.

Great Grandmother of 11.

Great Great Grandmother of 1.


Dorothy was the granddaughter of Polish immigrants, Pawel Dolecki & Anna Kalinowski Dolecki. She was the great granddaughter of Jan & MaryAnna Dolecki.


Auntie Dorothy loved baseball throughout her whole life. When she was a young girl & when she was older she still loved to play baseball. My other Koper Aunts have told me that when they were young ladies, they would be busy about hair, clothes, & boys. Auntie Dorothy, on the other hand, would rather go play baseball.

She loved to watch the Detroit Tigers, too. The love of Detroit Tiger baseball seems to be a tradition with my Dad & his siblings, also with the cousins of their age group.

Auntie Dorothy proudly told me that she was the original Mrs. Fix-It. She, like my Daddy & I'm sure all of the Koper children did, learned to fix things & build things from her father, John. She had even told me how she did some of her own home remodeling when she was younger & there weren't all those home improvement stores to make it easy.

From her mother Katherine, Auntie Dorothy learned how to make kielbasa. There were many of her niece's & nephew's weddings that she made the Koper family kielbasa recipe for. She passed down the tradition of making it to her children & grandchildren. I think they are the only ones who still carry on that tradition. She was very proud to tell me all of this.

In the 1990's, there had been a falling out among the Aunts, so Auntie Dorthy stopped talking to the family for about 9 years. In 2005, I started to write her letters & send cards to her for special occassions. I never expected a phone call. My Daddy & most of his sibling did/do not like to be on the telephone.
Finally, one Sunday after Church my sister & I decided to stop & visit. Auntie Dorothy was so happy to see me because of all the cards & letters. A photo I had sent was displayed on their coffee table. Even Uncle Tony was happy to see us. She enjoyed talking about when she was a young girl & remembering her time with her parents & siblings. She had a wonderful memory. She took photos out of her strongbox & off of the wall to loan to me. We continued to visit when we could. She'd sit in her chair & I'd sit on the floor next to her & we'd talk. After she died, I found out that my visits really made her day. That made me feel so good because they had made my day @ the time. She had also treasured the pictures, cards, & letters that I had sent.

I remember all of my Koper Aunts best, looking like they did in the 1977 photo. Auntie Dorothy would have her car full of her sisters, pulling into older sister, (Auntie)Helen's driveway in Coldwater for the weekend. They'd be there to visit, gossip, maybe have a drink or two & to PLAY CARDS, sometimes ALL night. The Koper brothers would be there visiting, too. Playing cards was another family pastime since they were young. That's where the family joke about Koper being a version of the word poker came about.
Those were some very fun days that I will always cherish.




Auntie Dorothy's Star