Victoria Grzesiakowski

Victoria Grzesiakowski nee Fraint, 100 , born on September 19, 1925 in Mainz-Hechtsheim, Germany, passed away on July 10, 2026. She was a 51-year resident of Park Ridge, Il, and spent over a year at Norwood Crossing in Chicago.

Victoria was the devoted mother of Linda (Richard) Hanrath and Timothy (Diana) Grzesiakowski, grandmother of Emily Hanrath, sister-in-law of Lucy Fraint, and aunt to many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband John, her parents Konstanty and Anna Fraint, and siblings Zofia (Jozef) Zmudzinski, Alexander (Domicela) Fraint, and Wolfgang Fraint.

Victoria "Vicki" lived the first twenty-two years of her life in Germany, with most of that time spent in Mainz-Hechtsheim where she went to school and worked in an office. She went through World War II in her teens and early twenties and told stories about praying to God to let her live when the bombs were falling. God listened to her prayers, as she lived eighty-one years after the war ended. She met her husband John near the end of World War II when he was stationed in Germany.

Victoria immigrated to the United States in 1947 on a plane ride that took twenty-four hours, and that made many stops. John and Victoria were married in January 1948 at St. Hedwig’s Church in Chicago. They lived in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago for seven years and bought their first house in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood in 1955. They moved to Park Ridge in 1975, which is the longest place she lived in her life. Victoria had two children, Linda who was born in 1949, and Timothy who was born in 1952. She also brought her youngest brother, Wolfgang "Jerry" to the United States from Poland in the 1950s so he could have a better life.

Victoria retired from the William Wrigley Jr. Company in 1990. She liked going to musicals and movies, listening to music, especially German music, and singers like Heino, though Julie London’s “Cry Me a River” was one of her favorite songs. For many years, she attended many German functions in the Chicago area.

She loved her flower garden, which currently has roses, poppies, hydrangeas, and coneflowers. We have lots of home movies that were taken at the Garfield Park Conservatory to “use up film in the camera.” In her younger days, she used to knit, crochet, and make Christmas ornaments.

Victoria was a world traveler, and visited six of seven continents, first with John, and after he died Linda became her travel companion on many trips. She visited Germany many times and was able to reconnect with some of her school friends in Heschheim. She enjoyed her German plum cake, plaumenkuchen, and could tell you which bakeries made the best ones. She was a big coffee drinker and could tell you which restaurants had good and bad coffee.

Victoria saw a lot of life and the world in her one hundred years on this earth. She will truly be missed by her family and friends.

Visitation will be held at Nelson Funeral Home 820 W. Talcott Rd. Park Ridge, Il 60068 on Friday, July 17 from 4:00 pm to 8:00. Funeral Prayers will be at the funeral home on Saturday, July 18, 2026 starting at 10:00 am. With a procession to follow to Mary Seat of Wisdom Catholic Church 920 W. Granville Ave. Park Ridge, IL for a 10:30 am Mass of Christian Burial. Entombment to follow at St. Adalbert Cemetery, Niles, IL.