Architect Marcel P. Swigoniak Passes Away at 82

Marcel P. SwigoniakWe are deeply saddened by the loss of Marcel P. Swigoniak of Eastchester on April 10, 2024, just six days before his 83rd birthday. Marcel was a man of optimism, courage, intellectual prowess and creativity. He was born in German occupied Poland during the height of World War II. He received a Masters of Architectural Engineering at the Politechnika Krakowska in Krakow, Poland. After several high level appointments as an architect including designing the Fiat automobile factory in Bielsko-Bliala, Poland he fell victim to the communist system and was replaced in his job by a Party member, as often was the case in pre-Solidarity Poland. Over time, he and his wife devised a clandestine plan to escape with their two small children from communist Poland in the mid 1970s. After a brief period in a refugee camp in Italy, he and his family received permission to immigrate to America in 1977. Marcel established his own architecture firm in the US and worked as a sole practitioner, including assisting in the design of his daughter’s and son-in-law’s house in Scarsdale, until a life-altering stroke ended his professional career. He is a member of American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.) and National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NARB).

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Krystyna, his children, Alexandra Swigon and Agnieszka (Aggy) Shawn, son-in-law Peter Shawn and his grandchildren, Elizabeth, Emily and Jonathan.

Arrangements include Funeral Mass at Annunciation Church (470 Westchester Ave., Crestwood) on Saturday, April 13, at 10am with the Burial following at 11:15am at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (10 W. Stevens Avenue, Hawthorne).