Veronica W. Grow

September 06, 1925 - January 07, 2010

Age 84 of South St. Paul on January 7, 2010. Dachau concentration camp survivor & 31 year employee of Waldorf Corporation.

Preceded in death by daughter, Pat Strom. Survived by children, Marti, Thom & Linda Grow; granddaughters, Nicole & Angela; great-grandsons, Payton & Antonio; and other relatives & friends.

Special thanks to the staff/family at Cerenity Care Center-Bethesda of South St. Paul, Dr. John F. Rotilie, M.D. & St. Joseph’s Hospital for their excellent care.

Weronika Piechnik was born on September 6, 1925 in Tomaszów-Lubelski, Poland, to Polish/French parents. Her normal life ended when the Nazis invaded Poland (around age 13) and she was placed into slave labor. She was forced to shoot at Russians, help wounded soldiers and work in an ammunitions factory. She survived the last 18 months in Dachau Concentration Camp, which was liberated by the Americans in April 1945. With her parents gone, she ended up in a Displaced Persons Camp in Hohenfels, Germany, where she had a short-lived marriage and her daughter, Miroslawa (Marti) was born. Through the sponsorship of Catholic Charities, Veronica and Marti came to the U.S. in May 1950 on the USN Blatchford. They arrived in New York, climbed the Statue of Liberty, and Veronica finally felt hope. It was a monumental event and the beginning of a new life for them, which took place in South St. Paul, MN.
In 1952, she married Orval Grow and had three more children; Thom, Pat and Linda, while working hard at American Linen and then at Waldorf Corp. (where she retired in 1992, after 31 years). Linda’s two daughters, Nicole and Angela, were born in the 1980’s and brought much joy to Veronica’s life. In March 1996, she survived a horrendous heart attack and spent the last 13˝ years of her life at Cerenity-Bethesda Care Center in South St. Paul, where she was loved and cared for. Her Alzheimers was her last battle.
Veronica had a wonderful sense of humor, a very kind heart and always told you what she thought. She was a remarkable woman…..she was a survivor.

- Marti Grow

Funeral Information

Funeral Service 11 AM Saturday, January 16, 2010 at SOUTHERN FUNERAL HOME, 414 Marie Avenue in South St. Paul with a visitation 2 hours prior to the Service at the funeral home Interment Oak Hill Cemetery in South St. Paul

Donations Information

In lieu of flowers memorials preferred.