Fudala, Emelia W.Emilia W. Fudala, 96, currently of Norman, OK and recently of Binghamton, NY, passed away on Thursday, June 15th, 2017. She was born on October 6, 1920 in Bochnia, Poland to Warzyniec and Emilia (nee-Fitz) Gondek. Emilia ("Miki") Was a P.O.W., surviving 21 months of imprisonment in a Russian Labor Camp (Gulag). Upon release in late March of 1941, she joined the Polish military forces, training and serving in the Mid-East and Italy as a Courier and Transportation Sergeant during WWII. She served with the Polish Army under the auspices of the British 8th Army during the Battle of Monte Cassino, Italy in 1944. In 1946, she married Jan Fudala (also an Officer in the Polish Army) in Loretto, Italy and both settled in England following their discharge from military duty. After the birth of a son and daughter in England, they emigrated to the United States in 1951 and became U.S. Citizens, raising their family in Binghamton, NY. She was promoted to 1st Lieutenant (Retired) in September of 2015 by the Polish Government. Emilia was active in the Polish National Alliance, the Polish Army Veterans Association, St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, Roberson Center for the Arts and Sciences, and the American Civic Center while residing in Binghamton. She was a founding member of the Polish Community Center in Binghamton, and the Kopernick Society, who through their efforts, raised funds for building the Kopernick Observatory in Vestal, NY. During her lifetime she was recognized for her community commitment, cultural achievements and military service. She was awarded the Polish Medalu "Obroncy Ojczyzny 1939-1945" (Medal for Defending the Country) while in Italy on May 9th of this year. Emilia was preceased in death by her parents; her husband, Jan Fudala, and a son, John K. Fudala. Emilia is survived by three daughters; Basn Fudala-Taylor and husband Michael Skrzypczynski of Norman, OK; Bozenna Fudala Jones and husband Bradley, of Lexington, OK; Ewa Fudala Tedeschi and husband, John, of Chantilly, VA. She also has two grandsons; Robert Jones and wife Myranda of Lexington, OK, and Joseph Tedeschi of Chantilly, VA.; also two great-grandsons, Jerry and Jon Jones of Lexington, OK. A Funeral Service will be held 9:00AM on Friday, June 23, 2017 at Laskowski Funeral Home and at 10:00AM at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 300 Odell Ave. Endicott, where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated. Internment will follow at Calvary Cemetery, Johnson City. The family will receive friends and relatives at the funeral home on Thursday from 7 to 9PM. A Memorial Service will be held in Oklahoma, to be announced at a later date. Memorial donations may be made in memory of Emilia Fudala to St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 300 Odell Ave. Endicott, NY, 13760 or the St. Vincent DePaul Society at either St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Norman, OK or Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Purcell, OK. Flowers may be sent for funeral services to Laskowski Funeral Home. Online condolences may be shared at www.HavenbrookFuneralHome.com in Norman, OK.