SYLVIA V. "SYL" CIESLEK, age 89, of Thorp, WI, peacefully passed away surrounded by her family on Sunday, April 13, 2025 at Clark County Rehab & Living Center in Owen, WI.  Funeral services will be held at 10:30am on Friday, May 2, 2025 at St. Bernard-St. Hedwig's Catholic Church in Thorp, with Rev. Stanislaus Michael Antony officiating.  Visitation will be held at the church on Friday from 9am until time of service.  Burial will take place in Riverside Cemetery in Withee, WI at a later date.

     Sylvia Victoria Cieslek was born on November 26, 1935 in Chicago, IL, to Henry W. and Helen R. (Gwiazdon) Cieslek.  When she was 6 years old, her family moved to Thorp where she was raised and received her education, graduating from Thorp High School in 1953.  After graduation, Syl began working for Thorp Finance Corporation in Thorp.  She was united in marriage to David D. Mamayek on May 25, 1954 at St. Hedwig's Catholic Church in Thorp.  They later divorced.  Syl worked at Thorp Finance Corporation, later ITT Financial, until 1975.  She then went to work as a paralegal for Senn Law Office in Thorp, where she remained until retiring in 2001.

     Syl was a very active member of the Thorp community.  She was involved in the foster grandparent and pen pal program at the Thorp Public Schools for 20 years, and was Mrs. Santa Claus at the Thorp Library for more than 30 years.  Syl enjoyed meeting regularly with her lunch ladies, playing cards weekly with her card club girls, playing in the monthly cribbage tournament at The Sand Bar, and she created a Facebook page for the local Thorp fans of the TV reality show, Survivor, which she updated regularly.

     She had many other interests, including knitting, where she knitted hundreds of booties, hats and stockings for newborns, many in Packer colors and a few in Vikings colors, which was hard for her to do, and donated them to St. Joseph's Hospital in Chippewa Falls.  Syl was a huge Packer and Badger football fan.  She loved reading and was a big supporter of the Thorp and Stanley libraries.  Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren all received many ornaments over the years that she crafted with her own hands, and she loved gardening and cooking.  She was very proud that she could get 14 meals out of one rotisserie chicken!

     Syl will be dearly missed by her daughter, Diane Lesniewski, of Thorp; two granddaughters:  Erin Lesniewski-Copeland (partner Steve Alton) of Menomonie, WI, and Desiree Lesniewski-Theisen (Michael) of Eau Claire; five great grandchildren: Ella Copeland, Dylan and Drew Alton, Olivia, Damian Theisen; one sister: Rosemary Regehr of Wausau; nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

     She was preceded in death by her parents; her son-in-law, Rich Lesniewski; and one sister, Marian Bielecki.

     In lieu of flowers, her family requests that donations be made in her name to St. Jude's Children’s Hospital.