Alwine Fitz

Alwine Fitz, nee: Smokorowski, 76, of St. Joseph, Stepped into Eternity on Tuesday, February 7, 2012, at The Willows in St. Joseph. A Celebration of Life Eternal will be held 10:00 A.M. Saturday, February 11 at First Baptist Church, 902 Broad St., St. Joseph, with Rev. Marlo Fritzke officiating. Burial will follow at Riverview Cemetery in St. Joseph. Friends may call from 6:00 until 8:00 P.M. Friday at Starks & Menchinger Chapel, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church or Alzheimers Foundation of America. Those wishing to sign Alwine’s Memory Book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Alwine was born August 5, 1935 in Kolosowa, Poland to Wasyli and Tatjana Smokorowski. She was the oldest of five children. Two of her brothers, Peter and Alfred live in Kansas City, one brother Wilhelm in California. Her brother Oswald died in 1977. Alwine married William Fitz in 1962, and he preceded her in 1994. Her life was marked by hard work, which included years at Collins & Aikman, and duties as custodian at First Baptist Church in St. Joseph, where she was also a member. Alwine always found people who needed her help and she devoted herself fully to them. Other survivors include two nephews and three nieces and their families living in Kansas.