Obituary of Carolyn M Rusiackas

Carolyn Malkowski Rusiackas went home to the God she so faithfully served and so ardently loved on Monday, February 10, 2025. She died in the morning in the comfort of her home in Darien, CT. She was 85 years old.

Carolyn was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island on October 2, 1939, to Henry F. Malkowski and Stella Genevieve Moskwa Malkowski. She grew up in Seekonk, MA, where she attended both Catholic elementary and high school. She graduated from Pembroke College at Brown University and then moved to Boston where she received a master's degree from Boston College. She also studied graduate-level art at the Teacher College at Columbia University.

She spent her years after graduation teaching in the Winchester elementary schools, developing a particular love of forming young minds in creativity. It was during this chapter in her life when she met her late husband, Jim Rusiackas. On May 13, 1972, they were married at the Manning Chapel at Brown University. Together, they moved to Darien, CT. There, Carolyn began a career as a real estate agent and volunteered at the local library and as part of the newcomers club.

In 1991, Carolyn changed career paths and joined the campus ministry team at Fairfield University, the Jesuit school not far from her home. For more than twenty years, Carolyn served in this essential role: forming, mentoring and accompanying an untold number of students. Among many things, Carolyn was responsible for guiding Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors in their service at campus Masses. Carolyn walked with students through the highs and lows of their college experience, always encouraging them to draw closer to the God she knew so well. She continued to walk with students as they became alumni and began their own careers and families. Carolyn left fulltime ministry at Fairfield in the mid-2010s but she always kept one foot on Fairfield's campus, becoming one of the first spiritual directors to join the Murphy Center for Ignatian Spirituality.

In addition to the hundreds of former students, Carolyn leaves behind a brother, Henry Malkowski, sister-in-law, Deborah Telford Malkowski, nephew, Eric Malkowski and godchildren.

A funeral Mass will be held at the Egan Chapel on Fairfield University's campus on Saturday March 1 at 11 AM ET. A reception will follow at the Dolan School of Business.

https://Fairfield.zoom.us/j/99616215368 is the zoom link for service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Fairfield University's Campus Ministry