Kovolisky, Stanley
(Sept. 14, 1924 - Dec. 30, 1985)Ignorance of Polish names is widespread. Some names, like Kovolisky, are not as common as a cold but are harder to find their origin. To begin with, Stanley Kovolisky was the name of a Pennsylvania coal cracker who joined the U.S. Army on May 1, 1943. Obviously, the name was odd. Whatever it was in Poland, it wasn't Kovolisky.
It's hard to find families of the same name. Where, then, did Stanley Kovolisky come from? Little is known of his ancestors. He was born in the small mining village of Simpson, in Fell Township, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, where in 1920 virtually the name of every Polish family was distorted, garbled, misprinted, and incorrect. It meant that the U. S. census records from 1900 to 1930, each in its own way, were filled with plenty of flaws. Although they were both born in Pennsylvania, the names of Ignatz and Julia Kovolisky, Stanley's parents, popped up only in the 1930 census; hence it was impossible to use other censuses to straighten the records.
Somehow, to the would-be miners of Simpson and other coal patches where mines were closed, Harrison and Kearny, which broke away from it long ago, and separated from Newark, New Jersey, by the Passaic River, were known as places where one could find work. One of the largest manufacturer of radio tubes in the country, R. C. A., occupying 26 buildings in Harrison, employed nearly every woman in the surrounding towns who wanted to work until the plant closed its doors in 1972.
After the great war, Stanley Kovolisky moved to Harrison and worked in the weather-proofing and aluminum industries until he retired. In the beginning, he met a young worker, Helen Pozarycki, who made radio tubes, and after they were married they joined Our Lady of Czestochowa Roman Catholic Church in Harrison. They had five children -- Stanley, John, Lorraine, Antoinette, and Joseph -- and knew the importance of the church in their lives. They encouraged their children to stick together, and now, despite the fact that Stanley Kovolisky died in 1985, his children still live close together. His wife, who belonged to most of the church organizations, died Oct. 17, 2007, and was laid to rest in Holy Cross Cemetery.
It remains to find the exact spelling of the family name.
From: Edward Pinkowski (2008)