Flora Liebich
From Friday's Globe and Mail Published on Friday, Dec. 14, 2007 12:00AM EST Last updated on Saturday, Mar. 14, 2009 1:37AM EDT
Irena was born into a Poland recreated on the map of Europe following the end of the First World War. Growing up on a country property near Wloclawek, Irena was the youngest of three siblings, followed by three half-siblings.
After completing school, participating on the girls' rowing team and playing viola in the local philharmonic, Irena moved to Warsaw, where she worked for the Ministry of Defence. As German bombers attacked Warsaw on Sept. 3, 1939, she was evacuated to Romania. It would be 33 years before she saw her remaining siblings again.
Along with other Polish government and military officials, she spent several months in an internment camp in the Romanian countryside. She took great personal risks transporting false passports and civilian clothes to Polish soldiers who assumed civilian identities so they could leave the country.
Irena continued to work for the Polish government in exile, first in France, then in Britain, decoding secret messages. She developed a life-long love for Scotland.
After the war, she married Col. Andrew B. Liebich, CBE, a former Polish officer and diplomat. They remained in England, where Irena studied horticulture at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Her love of plants and flowers accompanied her throughout her life.
She arrived with her husband in Canada in 1950 and took up residence in Montreal, where their daughter, Flora, was born. Although Irena and Andrew became Canadian citizens, the family home reflected their heritage and welcomed many historical Polish figures.
Following Andrew's untimely death, Irena worked at several Montreal hospitals and institutions. After graduating from McGill University with a masters degree in social work, she worked as a medical social worker at the Montreal Neurological Institute, a vocation she practised with great care and compassion until retirement.
A gifted writer in three languages, Irena freelanced for the Polish section of Radio Canada International.
She was a patriot to the end; her funeral took place at Our Lady of Czestochowa in Montreal and she was buried next to her husband in the Polish section of the Roman Catholic cemetery in Saint-Sauveur, Que. A Scottish bagpiper played a lament.
While the last years brought considerable physical challenges, Irena's mind was clear and precise until the end. We will always remember her beauty, courage, intelligence, grace and charm.
Flora Liebich is Irena's daughter.
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