Lawrence S. Polowy

Thomaston - Lawrence Stanley Polowy of Thomaston died May 17, 2022, of natural causes. He was 93. The son of Stanley J. and Sophie (Swoboda) Polowy, he was born third (and, it was presumed, last) after his siblings Ann and John. He was promptly nicknamed Babe and remained so ever thereafter, despite brother Billy’s arrival nine years later.

After high school, Babe felt he had to choose between being a factory worker or a mailman. Hating to be cooped up and relentlessly supervised, and despite the family’s pressing financial circumstances, he opted for the lower-paying post office. He compensated by working all the overtime he could, and for several years clocked 98-hour weeks. The work was grueling—he wore out shoes and mail trucks at a heroic rate—but Babe found it to be congenial and came to be recognized and liked in every corner of Thomaston. He retired after 40 years on the job.

The love of Babe’s life was his wife, whom he met when she was Marion Deane Peck, a widow living along one of his mail routes. Though they married relatively late in life, they shared joyous years together. Babe’s devotion to her during her long final illness was boundless, and he was enduringly devastated by her death.

Babe had several avocational passions. He avidly competed in shooting sports and was much admired as an outdoorsman and trap-shooter. A founding member of the Thomaston Fish and Game Club, in retirement he energetically volunteered there. Babe’s enthusiasm for dogs and their training was boundless, and his German shepherd Rosie was the cherished companion of his last days.

Babe also had a longstanding love of electronics, especially ham radio, through which he enjoyed encountering people from all over the world. He tested aspiring hams until the last months of his life and was saddened to see the skill dying. His other great passion, for automobiles, led him to buy one for himself (and, later, one for his wife) every other year.

Babe could seem gruff and darkly Slavic, but to know him at all was to appreciate his inherent kindness, devotion, generosity, and deadpan humor. He was a trusted and beloved son, brother, husband, godfather, and friend. Babe was the quiet leader of the Polowys and their proud historian, always ready to help with loans and gifts of money and—if asked—to provide wise counsel. He endlessly proved himself to be selfless, forgiving, concerned, patient, wise, philosophic, steadfast, and meticulous in his affairs.

In addition to caring for Marion in her final years, Babe was a devoted caretaker to his mother in the twenty-one years between his father’s death and hers. He also did much to assure the comfort and security of his sister-in-law Irene after the death of his brother John. His nieces and nephews likewise benefitted from his generosity, wisdom, and solicitousness.

Babe outlived all three of his siblings. His survivors include his sister-in-law Irene; nieces Lynda Mitchell and Barbara Polowy and Barbara’s husband, John Sippel; nephews William David Polowy and Timothy Polowy; and grandniece Jamie Weisman, her husband, Jonathan Weisman, and their children Abigail, Chloe, and Benjamin.

On Tuesday, May 24, 2022, family and friends may call from 9 to 10 a.m. at the Lyons Funeral Home, 46 High St., Thomaston. At 10:30 a.m. a Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Thomas Church (St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish), 1 East Main Street. Burial will follow in Hillside Cemetery.