Anne Marie Kowals, age 90 years, of Bridgewater Township, NJ, died peacefully on Monday, January 31, 2022 at Brandywine Assisted Living at Middlebrook Crossing, Bridgewater Township, NJ.

Born at home in Bayonne, NJ on July 26, 1931, Anne was the daughter of the late William and Sofia Czyzewska Slawinski. Raised in Bayonne, NJ, she had lived in Union, NJ and Delray Beach, FL for many years prior to moving to Bridgewater, NJ in 2017 to be closer to family.

A loving and genuine soul, the word ‘matriarch’ best describes this woman of faith and family.

Her journey begins in Bayonne, NJ, where she grew up with five siblings in a traditional Polish-Catholic home. She learned the values of hard work and family at an early age, and in a home with that many people, she quickly learned how to be handy and eventually would be known to be able to fix anything. There was not a tool she could not use nor wall paper that she could not hang!

Meeting her future husband George in the early 1950’s, she and George were both fond to often tell everyone that they were happily married to their soul-mate. Joining hands in holy matrimony on January 23, 1954 at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Bayonne, NJ, the couple shared a wonderful life of love and respect that did not end with George’s passing in 2018, but only strengthened Anne’s resolve that with prayer and hope in the promises of faith, that she would one day see him again in heaven.

The two shared a romantic love that was grounded in respect and trust. They raised their three children, George Jr., William, and Lisa Anne, to know that showing respect to all peoples and staying grounded in faith was the only way to live productive and successful lives. Being a mother was seemingly in Anne’s DNA, as nothing ever could shake her in her role as a mom, even with three children who managed to test this resolve with several serious accidents and other challenges over the years. Throughout it all, Anne simply did what she did best, and handled each situation with a level of unmatched care and sensitivity while also imparting valuable life lessons to her children and their friends.

Extremely intelligent and full of wit, Anne was a news junkie, reading the paper daily and watching the nightly news. She was also the family Scrabble master, daring anyone to challenge her with many fond memories being made over that and other card games.

A spiritual woman, Anne was a member of Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church in Union, NJ and St. Lucy Church in Highland Beach, Florida. She was a longtime member of the Rosary Altar Society at Holy Spirit and devoted her life to being a living example of God’s goodness and grace.

Anne and George shared a love for traveling and experiencing new cultures. They took many cruises, traveled around the world, and enjoyed every minute of their time together. One place that they both were especially proud to visit and experience was Poland. Proud of their Polish Heritage, they got to experience first-hand the many Polish Customs that they had integrated into Christmas and Easter Celebrations with their family over the years.

It cannot be overstated that family was Anne’s world. She was over the moon when she was ‘promoted’ to being a grandmother and her knitting skills came in handy, as she made many outfits for her grandchildren through the years. She was the one that you could talk with about anything, and her sage advice over a cup of hot chocolate seemingly always made things better and clearer.

1 Corinthians 13:13 states: And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Anne lived a life based on faith, the hope of a greater tomorrow and grounded all that she did with love. Truly a legacy from which we all can learn, and of course remember with a smile.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by two brothers, John in 1984 and Jerry in 1987, as well as by two sisters, Florence Stasiulewicz in 1994 and Loretta Kraszewski in 2005.

Surviving are her devoted children, Lisa Anne Kowals Olender, William A. Kowals and George J. Kowals, Jr.; her son-in-law and daughters-in-law, Robert, Donna and Marie; her loving grandchildren, Michael R. and Ava Grace Olender, Alexander W. and Marielle G. Kowals, and Jorge Nichols; her older sister, Eleanor Eisele; her beloved caregiver of the past six years, Idong Ross; many nieces, nephews, and extended family; and many dear friends.

A Mass of Christian Burial celebrated by Rev. John Primich will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at St. Magdalen Church, 105 Mine Street, Flemington, NJ 08822, under the care and direction of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ. The family will receive friends at the church beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

Cremation at the Chapel of Ewing Crematory, Ewing Township, NJ, was private.

You are encouraged to visit Anne’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of her life.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Anne’s honor and memory to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or online by clicking HERE.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”