Monica J. Rydzewski, 89, of Falls Church, Virginia, passed away peacefully on Sunday morning, August 29, 2021. She had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for several years.  We are comforted knowing that Monica Rydzewski knows who Monica Rydzewski is again.

Her beloved husband, the late Bernard J. “Bebe” Rydzewski, originally of Swoyersville, Pennsylvania, passed away on April 20, 1990.  BeBe and Moni shared 31 wonderful years of marriage.

Monica was the daughter of the late John and Veronica (Greytak) Iskra.  She was born on February 17, 1932, and raised in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where she graduated from Saint Nicholas High School, part of the great class of 1950.

After marrying and moving to Northern Virginia, her husband’s work with the CIA provided the opportunity to live in Mexico City, Mexico, Okinawa, Japan, and Athens, Greece. Along the way she gave birth to four sons: Vincent and Daniel in Mexico; Philip in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; and Leo in Greece.  If Monica had a daughter, she would have been named Mary Alice, after her two grandmothers.

Monica worked at Georgetown University’s School of Dentistry in Washington, D.C.  She joked with her colleagues that she had a D.E. degree, which stood for “domestic engineer.”  Monica was a devout Catholic who practiced her faith at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Vienna, Virginia.

In retirement Monica played bridge, visited her family and friends, and traveled to exciting destinations such as Australia, Croatia, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Finland, Germany, Russia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. She bent over backwards to kiss the Blarney Stone, but her favorite trip was to Oberammergau, Germany, where she witnessed the Passion Play. She also volunteered at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia, where she met new people and listened to a lot of great live music.

In addition to her parents, John and Veronica Iskra, and her husband, Bernard, Monica was preceded in death by her siblings, John Iskra, Bernardine Kalna, Sister M. Teresita (Mary) Iskra SS.C.M., Joseph Iskra, and Cyril Iskra.

Monica is survived by her four sons, Vincent J. Rydzewski (Suzy), Virginia Beach, Virginia; Daniel A. Rydzewski, Norfolk, Virginia; Philip Rydzewski (Margaret), Arlington, Virginia; and Leo G. Rydzewski (Heather), McLean, Virginia; her grandchildren, Dr. Ashley Hall (Dr. Seth Hall), Jason Rydzewski, Becket Rydzewski, Johnpaul Rydzewski, Peyton Rydzewski, and Nicholas Rydzewski; her great-granddaughter, Scarlett Hall; her siblings, Ann Smolko, Thomas Iskra, and Stephen Iskra; and her nieces and nephews.

Family and friends are respectfully invited to attend the funeral which will be conducted on Saturday, September 4, 2021, at 10:30 AM from the Wroblewski Funeral Home, Inc., 1442 Wyoming Avenue, Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 11:00 AM in Holy Family Parish, 574 Bennett Street, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, with the Reverend Jarrod Waugh, C.S.C., Pastor, officiating.

Interment with the Rite of Committal will follow at Mount Olivet Roman Catholic Cemetery, Carverton section of Kingston Township.

Family and friends also are invited to attend Monica’s viewing which will be held on Friday, September 3, 2021, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, at the funeral home.

For additional information or to send the Rydzewski Family an online message of condolence, you may visit the funeral home’s website, www.wroblewskifuneralhome.com, or Facebook page.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Monica’s memory to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org, or the Disabled American Veterans Association at www.dav.org.