Jennie Wojtena, of Dyer, Indiana, formerly of Hammond and Schererville was taken to heaven by angels on February 10, 2025.  She was 106 years old.  She was the child of John and Anna Murzyn of 121st Street in Whiting, Indiana, where she was born.

Jennie is survived by her Daughter, Carole (Jim) Nagy, and Grandchildren, David Nagy, M.D., and Susan (Mike) Reagin, and Ken; Great Grandchildren, Jennifer (Jordan) Leising, Christopher (Cody) Reagin, and Kelly Reagin; Great-Great Grandchildren, Louis James Leising and Charles John Leising.  She is also survived by Nieces and Nephews and Great Nieces and Great Nephews.

Jennie is predeceased by her Husband, Casimir also known as Casey; her Daughter, Judy (late Dale) Smeltzer; her Grandson, Dennis Bair; her Sister, Theda (late John) Tropsic; and Brothers, William (late Margaret) Murzyn, John Murzyn, and Roman (late Helen) Murzyn, and several Sisters-in-Law and Brothers-in-Law. She is also predeceased by her Son-in-Law, Jim Nagy, who passed away on the same day.

Jennie attended St. Adalbert Church and School in Whiting as a child, and George Rogers Clark High School.  Before marriage, she worked as a Mother’s Helper and housekeeper earning 50 Cents for a day’s work.  She also was employed at Junior Toy in Hammond where she assembled tricycles, and then later she helped make chocolate covered cherries at a Queen Ann facility in Hammond. She was also a sales clerk in a woman’s shop in Whiting and a boy’s clothing shop in Hammond. She had good math skills and could handle purchases without the help of an adding machine.

In the span of her 106-year lifetime, Jennie saw the world change dramatically.  In the year in which she was born, 1919, women in this country were not allowed to vote yet because the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was not ratified until a year later.  The street was not paved in front of her childhood home. Only a few people owned automobiles.  The Great Depression occurred when she was ten years old, and she witnessed a struggling lifestyle.  She was able to remember how poor her family was; however, her father always had gainful employment so that there always was food on the table, albeit soup and homemade bread many days.  She survived two pandemics, the one which occurred in 1918 and the recent one.

Jennie was a talented seamstress and could sew beautiful coats and dresses for her daughters when they were children.  She loved to cook and bake, and her lemon bars and cream puffs were the envy of the neighborhood.  Once a month for about 25 years the ladies on her block took turns to host an evening of card or dice games in their homes, and the highlight of the evening was the homemade dessert served, each hostess trying to outdo the others.  Jennie enjoyed caring for her backyard rose garden, as did her mother before her.  She enjoyed dancing the double-hop Polka with her husband at Polish weddings.  When she reached the age of 99 years, she moved into an assisted living apartment.  There, she made new friends because she had by then outlived her lifelong friends. She loved playing bingo, and entertained her fellow residents by singing solo to them in both English and Polish.

Jennie was asked many times to what did she attribute her longevity.  Her first answer was “chocolate.”  She loved her daily Hershey’s candy bar. However, besides her God-given good health, she did have a certain characteristic.  She was an optimist.  She did not let life drag her down no matter what challenge she faced as she grew older.  She was always an inspiration to her family and friends, especially when she needed to leave her comfort zone as her physical strength began to fail.  Jennie’s mother taught her an old Polish saying which she believed with all her heart and explains the optimism which she had.  “Yutro bedzie lepiej.”   In English, it means: “Tomorrow will be better.”

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