Mary, born circa 31 January 1864, in Prussian-partitioned Poland, was a daughter of Wawrzyniec (died sometime 1882-1886) and Jozefa (nee Switala - 1833-1929) Cywinski.

She was the wife of Antoni "Andy" Lewandowski (c1857-1913), whom she wed in 1881 prior to their, and eldest child Sophie's, 1884 emigration from Poland.

Mary and Andy's known children: Josephine "Sophie" (Szymanowski / Redyk); Stanislawa a.k.a. Stella/Elizabeth "Lizzy" (Dekowski); Anna M. (Pac); twins Eva (1889-1890) and Pelagia (1889-1891); Frank; Victoria "Dora" (Boniarski); Stanley (born 1896), Joseph (born 1898), and Anthony Jr. (born 1899), each of those three who died in infancy or early childhood; Mary "Mamie" H. (Lewinski); John T. (possibly F.); and Andrew "Henry" (born 1907, died in infancy or early childhood).

NOTE: The 1862 birth year inscribed on Mary's tombstone is inaccurate.

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Following are recollections of this Find A Grave memorial poster's late mother, Stella E. Lewandowski Wilson (1916-2012), daughter of Mary's son Frank, about her beloved grandmother Mary:

My grandmother made so many things. She made her laces and her ruffles. She knitted and crocheted. I believe that everything she had in her home and that she wore - from her blankets, quilts, gloves, capes - she made herself.

On weekdays, when the weather was cold, she'd wear a kerchief tied under her chin, like the peasant type did. And on Sundays, when she went to church, she'd sometimes wear a little lace cap touched up with ruffles. It would look so pretty. While most women wore their big wide hats, the wealthy old women wore these little lace caps.

My grandmother made tie-neck collars on her coats and jackets with a high ruffle around the neck. It was very becoming. Looking at her was like seeing a picture in a book of a typical old lady dressed so neat in her lavender and lace. And my grandmother had a very sweet smile on her face that made you feel like she was just the typical everybody's grandmother.

She'd wear her hair in a bun. It was soft - not drawn all of the way back. And there were waves in the front. It always looked so well-kept.

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Additional recollections of Stella Lewandowski Wilson:

On my father's side of the family, they were very fashionable people who kept up with just about everything. I was always so proud of them, because I could see that they were different from most people. They had a lot of class and culture.

One of my aunts [Dora Boniarski] was married to a detective. Another [Mamie Lewinski] was married to a policeman. They [law enforcement officers] seemed to make more money than the average worker.

Another of my aunts [Lizzy Dekowski] was married to a man who owned a jewelry store. Her sister [Annie Pac] was married to a man who owned a men's clothing store. Oh, they were stacked with clothes. They had the most business. My father used to go there [the Pacs' store] every time we went shopping and passed by this store. Later my aunt and her husband opened a restaurant business [elsewhere]. [FYI: See Franciszek "Frank" Pac's Find A Grave memorial for further details regarding his business ventures.]

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Stella's heartbreaking recollections follow about the tragic drowning death of her uncle Johnny, who had been, till his passing, Mary's youngest surviving child:

My father's brother, John, must have been drinking while he was out with my father, because my father was used to drinking and could drink an awful lot before he'd notice he was intoxicated.

That Sunday morning my father came home intoxicated. We [in Frank's marriage family household] took it that he had left his brother off at [mother Mary's] home [where Johnny lived]. But, latter part of the morning, before noon, my grandmother came to the house, to ask my father where his brother was. My father - who had just woke up - couldn't get his wits together. In fact, instead of going to bed, he had slept in the living room, on the chair. My father told his mother, "Why, he should be home - same time I got home - early this morning - around daybreak." He was sure that because he was home his brother was home, too. My grandmother couldn't convince him that he wasn't.

My father said, "He must be sleeping." My grandmother then got very upset, because she knew that something may have happened. And, seeing that my father was getting up from a spree caused her to be even more worried. She started crying.

My father hurried to go find out about his brother. He was worried because he knew that my young uncle had gone out on the boat - wanted to go on the boat - and my father hadn't wanted to.

All I remember after this incident was that my uncle couldn't be found right away. When his body was found, there were a lot of scars on him. I heard people talk about the crabs must have gotten to him. So, that was a tragedy.

I was very shocked when I found out my uncle had died, because I knew what death was. And my uncle used to come to our house. He worked on a truck, delivering sodas and ice cream to different stores, and would stop by, every once in the while, and leave us kids some stuff.

I never saw my father cry before that. But, afterwards, it seemed that every time he got into a group where there was a party or something going on and he'd drink a little, he would cry. And, when my grandmother came to the house, he used to cry, too. It seemed like, for no reason at all, my grandmother would cry. She would just start crying. Then, my father would cry, too.

He never talked about it. But, I sensed why he was crying. I could sense the reason, because I never saw him cry before that.

My grandmother never blamed my father for what happened. She had compassion. I take it she felt sorry for him and he felt sorry for her - considering each others' feelings.