OrzellWorld

Helen (Orzell) Konopka, 87, of Bristol, died on Sunday, Aug. 9 at home.

She was born on July 11, 1922 in West Rutland, VT and was a daughter of the late John and Antoinette (Dydo) Orzell. A longtime Bristol resident, she was employed at General Electric before retiring, and was a member of St. Stanislaus Church, Bristol.

She is survived by a son, Richard Konopka of Glastonbury; two daughters, Cynthia Freier of Bradenton, FL, and Karen Keegan of  Deerfield Beach, FL; five grandchildren, Heather Campana, Kyle and Lyndsey Freier, Katherine and Kimberly Konopka; two great-gran dchildren, Marina Freier and Isabella Freier-Flores; a brother, Stanley Orzell of Bristol; three sisters, Mary Stafford of Sarasota, FL, Judy Sapinski of Mechanicville, NY, and Theresa Grabowski of Rutland, VT; and several nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by two brothers; John and Frank Orzell, and a sister, Alice Pencikowski.

Funeral services were held on Wednesday, Aug. 12 from Funk Funeral Home, 35 Bellevue Ave., Bristol, to St. Stanislaus Church for a Mass of Christian Burial.

Burial followed in St. Joseph Cemetery, Bristol.

Memorial donations may be made to St. Stanislaus Church, 510 West Street, Bristol, CT 06010.

WEST RUTLAND — Frank A. Orzell, 82, of West Rutland, died Wednesday, June 20, 2007, at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in Hanover, NH.

He was born in Ira, June 5, 1925, the son of John and Antoinette (Dydo) Orzell.

Frank was a graduate of West Rutland High School.

He was a World War II U.S. Navy veteran serving in the Asiatic Pacific Theater of Operations.

Frank was married in 1949 to Bernice (Kempisti) Orzell.

He was employed at Staso Milling Co. and General Electric Co, retiring in 1987.

Mr. Orzell was a member of the American Legion Post #87, the V.F.W. Post #648, the Knights of Columbus, the Polish American Club and the Tin Can Sailors.

He enjoyed reading, gardening and four-wheeling.

Surviving are his wife of West Rutland; one daughter, Christine Julius and her husband Paul of Ira; two sons, David Orzell of Ira and James Orzell and his wife Mariann of Morris, CT; four grandchildren, Steve Hogan and his wife Katey, Stacey Studybaker and her husband Jason, Virginia Orzell and Abby Orzell; one great-grandson, Jack Hogan; four sisters, Mary Stafford of Sarasota, FL, Helen Konopka of Bristol, CT, Judy Sapinski of Mechanicsville, NY, and Theresa Grabowski of West Rutland; two brothers, John Orzell and Stanley Orzell of Bristol, CT; nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by a sister, Alice Pencikowski.

Funeral services will be held Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in West Rutland. Burial will follow in St. Stanislaus Cemetery.

Here is a document I found at the West Rutland Town Hall. It is the marriage record of my grandfather John "Eagle" Orzell. By finding this I was able to locate him in the 1910 U.S Federal Census.

Guess what name he used when the census taker came a calling? That's right Eagle.

Here's some information on the Steam ship my Grandfather John Orzell sailed on to the US.

{timg title:="S.S. Oldenburg" thumb:="/images/stories/orzell/tn_oldenburg.jpg" img:="/images/stories/orzell/oldenburg.jpg"} The "Oldenburg" was a 5,006 gross ton ship built by Fairfield Co Ltd, Glasgow in 1890 for Norddeutscher Lloyd [North German Lloyd] of Bremen. Her details were - length 415ft x beam 48ft, straight stem, one funnel, two masts, single screw and a speed of 13 knots. There was accommodation for 49-1st, 38-2nd and 1,901-3rd class passengers. Launched on 13/12/1890, she sailed from Bremen on her maiden voyage to Montevideo and Buenos Aires on 11/2/1891. On 11/6/1891 she commenced her first voyage from Bremen to Baltimore, 18/2/1892 her first from Bremen to New York, 22/6/1892 her first from Bremen via Suez to the Far East, and on 26/10/1892 her first from Bremen via Suez to Australia. On 3/3/1904 she started her last Bremen - Far East voyage (8 Round Voyages), 19/1/1905 her last Bremen - Baltimore voyage, and 18/4/1906 her last Bremen to Australia (18 round voyages). She resumed Bremen - South America sailings on 25/8/1906 and on 10/4/1910 commenced her last Bremen - New York crossing (24 round voyages on the North Atlantic). She commenced her final Bremen - S.America voyage on 12/11/1910 and in 1911 was sold to Turkish owners and renamed "Ak-Deniz". She was scrapped in 1923. [<em>North Atlantic Seaway</em> by N.R.P.Bonsor, vol.2,p.556] - [Posted to The ShipsList by Ted Finch - 29 January 1998]