PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Re: Death Record and exact location

Elzbieta Porteneuve — Fri Mar 25, 2016 4:46 am

Author: Elzbieta Porteneuve

Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2016 4:46 am

Joseph,
I posted you a private mail.
Best,
Elzbieta

Re: Death Record and exact location

Joseph Torolski — Thu Mar 03, 2016 12:49 pm

Author: Joseph Torolski

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2016 12:49 pm

Thank you both for your help. Hopefully I will get something from the funeral home. Elizabeta if you can call Zakopane when you return to Europe it would be much appreciated . I want to get to the bottom of this. I have much more to work on. But I want to get this done. Then I will tackle my origins as well as other members of my wife's family.

Re: Death Record and exact location

Elzbieta Porteneuve — Thu Mar 03, 2016 12:16 pm

Author: Elzbieta Porteneuve

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2016 12:16 pm

Joseph,

Here is the form to get BMD record (when you know its number)
http://www.zakopane.eu/assets/zakopaneEu/media/files/58ed3d32-2d44-4481-afd4-1343265474ea/podanie-usc.pdf
I got there from the page
http://www.zakopane.eu/artykuly/zalatw-sprawe/podzial-spraw-na-wydzialy/urzad-stanu-cywilnego/odpis-aktu-stanu-cywilnego
with click on the first line (PDF document).
I took the second document (Word), which contains RULES, and added a short translation to English, see attachement.

It seems it is feasible remotely.
I can help you once I am back in Europe, after March 20th, and call Zakopane office to understand better the issue.

The last ressort procedure would be using US side: I guess Ms Bernice Tarnowski travelled to Poland with her US passeport, then, going through Polish Consulate with US references (passeport, name, date and place) you must get an answer.

Best,
Elzbieta

Re: Death Record and exact location

Sophia — Thu Mar 03, 2016 12:02 pm

Author: Sophia

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2016 12:02 pm

Hi Joseph,
I do not see why you should need to go to Zakopane to get the information you are asking for. I do understand, however, the wish to go there and to be "on the spot" as it were, to honor her. Since you mention a funeral home, I will guess that the family brought her body back. This is not the easiest thing to do, and certainly would have created a paper trail. When you talk to the funeral home, why not ask what the general procedure would be for bringing a deceased person back from overseas? Surely there is all kinds of paperwork that has to be filed. That is where I would begin.
Of course, the death certificate is the thing that would help the most. It will name the place of death, whether that was at a hospital or otherwise. Do you know the cause of death, which could help you make some educated guess about where she died? Was there any mention in her obituary?
Best of luck,
Sophia

Re: Death Record and exact location

Joseph Torolski — Thu Mar 03, 2016 11:10 am

Author: Joseph Torolski

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2016 11:10 am

No one in the family seems to have a copy of the death certificate. I have contacted Czopeks Funeral home in Wyandotte, MI to see if they have anything. As far as the links sent they are in Polish and impossible for me to navigate. Do I have to go to Zakopane to get this information? We are going hopefully this summer but I would like to have this information ahead of time. When we were there two years ago it was frustrating for us to not be able obtain the information. We were with two Priest's who spoke Polish fluently who made a few calls but did not visit any type of building where this might be recorded.

Re: Death Record and exact location

Elzbieta Porteneuve — Sun Feb 28, 2016 9:04 am

Author: Elzbieta Porteneuve

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2016 9:04 am

Joseph,

If your wife's Busia passed in Zakopane, her death must be recorded there, in the USC (Civil Vital Records Registry).
You probably must demonstrate direct relationship to Busia to get her record (less than 100 years rule).

Zakopane is well known city.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakopane

http://www.usc.pl/index.php?strona=zasieg

Urząd Stanu Cywilnego - Zakopane
Dane kontaktowe:
Miasto: 34-500 Zakopane
Adres: ul. Kościuszki 13
Telefon:18 20 20 465
Fax: 18 20 20 455
Email:usc[at]um.zakopane.pl
Strona www: http://www.um.zakopane.pl
BIP: Wirtualne Biuro Obsługi
Teryt: 1217011
województwo małopolskie
powiat tatrzański
gmina Zakopane

Best,
Elzbieta

Re: Death Record and exact location

Sophia — Sat Feb 27, 2016 7:12 pm

Author: Sophia

Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2016 7:12 pm

Joseph, do you have her death certificate? Or any other document regarding her death? I checked Ancestry's database of deaths of Americans abroad, which does go to 1974, but could find nothing for her. Any other details you have about her death could be helpful.

Best of luck in your search,
Sophia

Death Record and exact location

Joseph Torolski — Sat Feb 27, 2016 1:45 pm

Author: Joseph Torolski

Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2016 1:45 pm

Me wife's Busia Bernice Tarnowski died in Zackopane, Poland on May 27, 1974 while visiting from the USA on vacation. She would like to find the exact spot where she died. We have been there twice on tours and have had no luck. We are hoping to go there in July or August but not on a big tour. Can anyone suggest how to find that spot?