Mrs. Regina Dietrich, maiden name, Nowicka, passed away peacefully in her home on Friday morning, December 16, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts at the age of 91.
Mrs. Dietrich is survived by her husband, Peter “Piotr” Dietrich, her daughter Christina Dietrich, and her grandson, Adrian Piotr Dietrich Hallak, all from Boston, Massachusetts.
Mrs, Dietrich was born on March 30, 1925 in Charzykowo, near Trzemeszno in the Province Poznan, Poland to Boleslaw Nowicki and Katarzyna Krol Nowicka. . In September of 1939, when Regina was 14 years old, Germany invaded her homeland. Her father, Boleslaw Nowicki, was taken prisoner by the Germans for his resistance to their invasion of Poland; Regina, who just completed grammar school, was taken to Germany for hard labor on a farm where she remained until the end of the war in 1945. Her mother, Katarzyna, was imprisoned in the Ravensbruck concentration camp where she died at the of 38.
When the WWII ended, Regina (the only one to survive in her family) pursued her education in Germany completing lyceum and college in an intensive course and later became a kindergarten teacher. In 1951, she with her post war adopted parents, Captain Stanislaw Michalicki, AK and Maria Michalicka emigrated to the United States.
In 1952, already living in Boston, Regina met Peter “Piotr” Dietrich while they were both members of a choir. They were married on April 25, 1953 and this year celebrated 63 years of marriage together.
Mrs, Dietrich was a multi-talented individual who spoke three languages, Polish, German and English. Her beautiful personality, kindness and irresistible smile could melt an iceberg. Her interpersonal and math skills led her to pursue a career in business where she was employed by TI Raleigh Industries for over thirty years. After TI Raleigh, Regina worked for the Grand Lodge of Masons of Massachusetts in Boston and retired at the age of 69.5 from Emerson College where she was the assistant to the VP of Finance. This amounted to a career spanning more than 40 years in the United States.
Mrs. Dietrich had many interest. She was an incredible mother, very supportive of her daughter Christina in her education and career as a concert pianist. As a supporter of the arts, Regina was a member and officer of the Chopin Society of New England, Inc. Omnipresent at all the concerts and activities of the Chopin Society and Chopin Conservatory for over 20 years, she played an active role in advocating for the arts.
As a survivor of WWII and advocate for freedom, she was an active member for 20 years of KNAPP Komitet Narodowy Amerykanow Polskiego Pochodzenia, (National Committee of Americans of Polish Descent) with her husband, Peter, (Secretary then later Chairman, KNAPP 1962-1972)/ KNAPP was an organization that advocated for a free Poland prior to the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union and the “Eastern Block” countries of Eastern Europe. In 1966, she was awarded the Silver Cross of Merit for her service to her country of Poland by the President of Poland, August Zaleski, of the Polish government in exile in London, England. Once Poland was liberated from communism and the control of the USSR, the government in exile returned to Poland under President Lech Walesa.
Mrs. Dietrich was a grand lady and incredible human being! She will be greatly missed by all whose lives she touched!
The Wake will be on Monday, 12/26 from 4-8 PM at Casper Funeral Home, 187 Dorchester St., South Boston, MA.
The Funeral Mass will be the next morning on Tuesday,12/27 at 10 AM at Saint Mark's Church, 1725 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester, MA and the burial at Cedar Grove Cemetery.