Obituary of Barbara Lobodzinska-Lien

Barbara Lobodzinska-Lien, age 88, died on Thursday, November 8, 2018 in the Prelude Homes & Services Group Home, a caring and loving community in Woodbury, MN. Barbara was born on May 28, 1930 in Warsaw, Poland. She grew up in the dangerous times of the occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed by the formation of the communist Polish government under the Soviet regime. As a final achievement of her education in Poland, she received a PhD in sociology from Warsaw University. Her areas of interest included sociology of marriage and family and women's issues. She researched and lectured at the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw University, the Medical Academy in Poland, and the University of Minnesota in the United States. Barbara Lobodzinska's research on marriage, family, and working women has resulted in several books and over 80 articles published in Poland and the United States. During her one year assignment at the University of Minnesota, in 1972, Barbara met her future husband, Norman Lien; they decided to marry and she stayed in Minnesota. Norm’s death in 2010 became the onset of a deep period of mourning and depression. Her health began to decline and led to an increasing loss of memory. She moved to the memory care cottages at Prelude Homes in July, 2018. She was preceded in death by her parents, Adam and Mary Swiecilo, her four year old daughter, Ewa Joanna, of a previous marriage in Poland, and her beloved husband, Norman Lien. Barbara will be missed by her friends, Sigrid and David Coats, her former colleague, German sociologist Lerke Gravenhorst, PhD, her dedicated senior management team, Terri and Grant Ostler, the care personnel from Prelude Homes and St. Croix Hospice. Barbara’s funeral will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday November 15, Fort Snelling National Cemetery at assembly area 6.

Any memorials may be made to: The Department of Sociology fund 3639, U of M Foundation, PO Box 860266, Minneapolis 55486