Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Henrietta Nowakowski is the product of 12 years of Felician Sisters’ schooling where Polish heritage was strongly emphasized. Her parents were pre-World War 1 immigrants, both coming from the Austro-Hungarian province of Lviv (Lwów).
Henrietta graduated from Wayne State University’s College of Pharmacy and has practiced in hospital, clinic and community settings. She has volunteered at [HN1] World Medica! Relief, a local charity of international scope and has traveled to Poland with Americares, delivering medica! supplies. Her Polonian life started with membership in the Polish Falcons of America, where she has been a member since early childhood, and where she has held offices at the local and state level. This organization awarded her with its Silver Meda! of the Legion of Honor.
Henrietta became involved with the American Council for Polish Culture’s Detroit affiliate, Friends of Polish Art, in 1978 and has served that group in many capacities. Her involvement with ACPCC (as it was named then) began in 1987 when she and her husband Stanley {now deceased) chaired the convention banquet in Ypsilanti, Michigan. She continued to serve on ACPC’s board in various elected and appointed capacities, and most notably co-chaired, with Barbara Lemecha, the Polish Exhibits at the National Conferences for the Social Studies for 6 years. Her main project while representing ACPC was in-depth research into the identity of the first Poles in the Jamestown Virginia Colony. That search to find primary sources is ongoing. She received ACPC’s Lifetime Achievement Award for this work.
Henrietta was a national director representing the Michigan Division of the Polish American Congress (PAC). Among her projects connected with PAC was indexing Anna Poray’s book Those Who Risked Their Lives and promoting and distributing the video Zegota narrated by actor Eli Wallach.
Perhaps the most significant of her projects is the one concluded recently and which commemorates the forgotten Blue Army (Błekitna Armia) Veterans buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in suburban Detroit. She considers this her most memorable achievement, for which she was awarded the Gold Meda! Republicae Memoriae Meritum by Poland’s lnstitute of National Remembrance. She was also acknowledged by the Polish Government with the Cavalier’s Cross and its Combatants Department’s medal Pro Patria. The Polish Army Veterans’ Association of America presented her with Miecze Hallerowskie and Medal Pamiątkowy Czynu Zbrojnego.
She owes this sense of commitment to community to her parents who were intensely involved in every phase of Detroit and national Polonia. Of course, none of the aforementioned projects would hove been achieved without the help of many individuals and she is grateful for that.
Henrietta is most proud of her daughter Maria Conrado, son-in-law Zoltan and grandsons Tadeusz and Mateusz.
Source: Booklet “Top 25 Polish American Leaders in 2025 Awards Banquet”.
