Sociology prof. 'Dr. K' dead at 82
By Liz Weeker
His students may have known him as Dr. K, but when the Germans invaded Poland nearly seventy years ago, Witold Krassowski was known as "Andrew the Black." A volunteer for the Polish Underground Army and the founder of Santa Clara's Sociology Department, Krassowski died in his home in Saratoga on Aug. 31 of congestive heart failure. He was 82.
"(There was a) deep sense of loss and yet I remembered what he told us about his death," said Dr. Marilyn Fernandez, associate professor and Sociology Department co-chair. "He had told us not to mourn, but instead celebrate."
Fernandez remembers Krassowski as the kind of teacher who connected with students on both a scholarly and personal level. He was always reminding faculty to put its students first.
Shortly after news of Krassowski's death reached the Santa Clara community, phone calls from colleagues and friends flooded the Sociology Department. Students also wrote to Krassowski's wife.
"I've gotten so many letters, each one is so tender," Mrs. Krassowski said. "Saying things like 'Dr. K changed my life.'
Krassowski was born Sept. 8, 1921, in the Polish village of Piesza-Wola. He joined the Polish Army shortly after graduating from high school and fought the Nazis during the German invasion of 1939.
Krassowski worked to sabotage German communications and rail transport throughout the war. After becoming seriously wounded during the Warsaw Uprising of August 1944, he received the Virtuti Militari, an award equal to the American Medal of Honor.
During Poland's surrender to Germany, Krassowski became a prisoner of war. For eight months, until his liberation, he survived by eating the pumpkin soup and water the Germans fed him.
Krassowski later drew upon his experience to teach his students. "He was a great story teller. He used stories to make abstract concepts come alive," Fernandez said.
Despite his hardship in Poland, Krassowski managed to come to the United States in 1948 where he studied on scholarship at Purdue University and later earned his doctorate in sociology at UCLA.
It was during a summer break from college that he met his future wife, Therese Nolan, a waitress in a Montana hotel. "He was very bright, charming and handsome."
A few months after proposing to her during their first date, Krassowski married Therese and remained together all 58 years.
After receiving his Ph.D, Krassowski came to Santa Clara and became the founder and first instructor of the university's sociology department. He also pioneered the first Western Undergraduate Anthropology and Sociology Research Conference.
"He always said he was the luckiest person alive," Fernandez said. "He went through all those hard times and then had the opportunity to come to America and teach at Santa Clara."
Dr. Krassowski is survived by his wife Therese, sons Fred, Tom, Dan and their families.̢۬A celebration of his life will be held in the Mission Church at 2 p.m. Friday.
*Ã Ã Contact Liz Weeker at (408) 554-4546 or eweeker@scu.edu.