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In brief

• Bożena Jawor, former deputy mayor of Nowy Sącz and former city council chair, died suddenly overnight at age 74.
• She taught Polish for 29 years and served as deputy mayor from 2006 to 2014.
• She was known for civic initiatives, including the Three Kings Epiphany procession and a campaign to save local cemeteries.

Death and tributes

Bożena Jawor died suddenly during the night of October 23–24, 2026, at the age of 74. (Zmarła Bożena Jawor. Była wiceprezydent Nowego Sącza, prezes Klubu Inteligencji Katolickiej i działaczka społeczna – RDN) (Odeszła Bożena Jawor, osoba niezwykle zasłużona dla Nowego Sącza, nauczycielka, mentorka, autorytet – Sądeczanin.info) Mayor of Nowy Sącz Ludomir Handzel, his deputies Artur Bochenek and Bożena Borkowska, and staff of the city hall and municipal units have paid tribute to her.

Career in politics and education

Born on April 20, 1952, in Nowy Sącz, Jawor graduated from the II Liceum Ogólnokształcące in Nowy Sącz in 1971, studied Polish philology at the Higher Pedagogical School in Opole, and later completed studies at the University of Rzeszów in 2005. (Zmarła Bożena Jawor, była wiceprezydent Nowego Sącza i przewodnicząca Rady Miasta – DTS24) She taught Polish at the Zespół Szkół Budowlanych in Nowy Sącz for 29 years, from 1977 to 2006.

From 1990 to 2002 she was deputy chair of the Nowy Sącz city council. She became deputy mayor in 2006 and held the post until 2014, under mayor Ryszard Nowak. She was also a long-serving councillor and later chaired the city council.

Civic work

Jawor initiated the Nowy Sącz Epiphany procession of the Three Kings and the collection campaign "Ratujmy sądeckie nekropolie" ("Let's save Sącz cemeteries"). She was president of the Catholic Intelligentsia Club, a member of the Związek Sądeczan association, and a member of Law and Justice (PiS).

Local media describe her as a teacher and mentor to many people in the city.