| According to Jakub's great-granddaughter, Mary Lasica Turalinski, Jakub and his wife Mary originally were from the village of Posuchy (pronounced Pa-soo-heh), near the town of Ranizow. They purchased land in Nart-Nowy, but the nearest church was a long walk through the forest, so they relocated in nearby Spie, which had a church. They spent many years there, and Jakub's descendants still live in the family farmhouse in Spie. Jakub is buried in the cemetery of St. Michael the Archangel in Spie, but the grave — which once bore a wooden cross — is no longer marked. Russian soldiers apparently burned the wood for heat while camping in bunkers during World War II. (The Germans, it was said, stole the bells from the church in Spie and melted them down for artillery.) Those are among the bits of family oral history passed down from Mary's father, Adam, and aunt, Maria Lasica Bordon.
By the way, it's hard to know if it's related to the family name, but there is a Lasica River catchment, or basin, which flows into what is now Kampinos National Park; Poland's largest national park, it borders Warsaw. |