Walter Szlendak

February 28, 1923 - March 30, 2004

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Services:
  Mass of Christian Burial Monday, April 5, 2004 at 10 AM in the St. Aloysius Catholic Church, 22800 Washington Street, Leonardtown, MD 20650. Interment will follow at Charles Memorial Gardens, Leonardtown, MD.

Visitation:
  Public Viewing Sunday, April 4, 2004 from 2 PM to 5 PM with Prayers at 3 PM in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home Chapel, 41590 Fenwick Street, Leonardtown, MD 20650.
  Wladyslaw (Walter) Szlendak, a long-time employee of St. Mary's College of Maryland passed away at his home in Lexington Park, Maryland on Tuesday, March 30, 2004. He was 81. Born February 28th, 1923 in Radsyn Podlaski, Poland, he served his country honorably during WWII prior to being captured. He was subsequently liberated from a Farm Labor Camp in Eastern Germany. He came to the United States in 1949 and settled in St. Mary's County with his wife and three children. Walter began a long life of dedicated and loyal service as the caretaker for the St. Vincent de Paul Society at Camp St. Florence in Abell, Maryland. He completed other assignments for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., working at St. Mary's Academy, Father Andrew White School and Camp Maria in Leonardtown, MD. After 20 years, the Archdiocese closed Camp St. Florence. He moved his family to Lexington Park, Maryland and began a career at St. Mary's College of Maryland in St. Mary's City. He was a fixture on the Security Force at St. Mary's until his retirement in 1986. Walter was much loved and universally respected by coworkers, faculty and, most of all, the students. One of his most cherished possessions upon his retirement was an award presented by the students that recognized his contributions to their time at St. Mary's. Walter taught more than lessons of security. He taught life. Whether at work ministering to the needs of college students, or at home nurturing grandchildren, he was a loving teacher. Sometimes tough, always fair, and constantly showing how to improve, embrace and enjoy our all-too-brief time on earth. Services were held on Monday, April 5th at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Leonardtown, Maryland. He is survived by his devoted wife of 61 years, Stanislawa (Stacy); sons Karol, Casimir, George R. and Joseph F. Szlendak; daughter Krystyna Morgan; sisters Yanka and Sofia; and grandchildren Krystle, Lisa Marie, Austin, Nicole and Brittany