Page 66 - Wallingford Magazine Issue 56 Autumn 2025

Paying It
Paying It

ORWARD!
F FORWARD!

by Joe Pajor
ophie Marshall rarely says no! Whenever I reach out to my cousin Sophie
Marshall to meet and catch up, I hear a quick litany of volunteer commit-
ments she has that week, including trips to area health facilities to cheer up
Sfriends. Once the school year starts, her school bus driver’s responsibilities
kick in. I continue to be amazed at the pace and amount of her weekly commit-
ments for an eighty-three-year-young woman. She just never stops! I have often
wondered where this commitment to help others originated.
In 1956, Sophie Pajor was a fourteen- glowing anticipation of what life would Sophie Marshall
year-old living with her younger sister, be like in the United States, thinking of
Helen, and their grandparents in a small the possibilities based on what she had Now, at eighty-three, Sophie Marshall
village near Krakow, Poland. Sophie and heard about America. is still paying it forward, as her com-
Helen’s parents, along with their older mitment to her community, family, and
siblings, Thadeusz and Stephanie, had What she did not anticipate was that friends remains unwavering. She contin-
already migrated to Wallingford years fourteen-year-old Sophie, along with ues to be actively volunteering in local
prior. Then, one day, Sophie and Hel- her sister Helen, would find herself in a and statewide Polish community orga-
en found themselves on a plane head- fourth-grade class full of nine-year-olds nizations and her church, St. Peter and
ing to New York to reunite with their at Moses Y Beach Elementary School, a Paul, all while being a devoted mother
family in Wallingford. Overnight, they decision made to allow them to learn and “Babci” [ Polish for grandmother].
found themselves in a new country that English. The patience and support she In addition, she is still a school bus driv-
spoke a different language and entered received from her teacher and peers er for special education students, a role
a new school system. Sophie recalls her during this challenging time left a last- she's held for over fifty-three years.
ing impression on her, shaping her be-
lief in the power of selfless assistance In 1963, a “sliding door moment”
and encouragement. The concept of changed Sophie’s life forever. A “slid-
“paying it forward” originated from the ing door moment” is when a simple,
support she received. apparently non-consequential moment
permanently changes your life forever.
After completing a year at Moses Y That moment was when Sophie’s car
Beach, she and Helen advanced to Ly- became stuck in her parents' snowed-
man Hall High School to join students in driveway. A passing bus driver, Ken
her own age. This was a time when Ly- Marshall, stopped and extricated her
man Hall High School schooled grades vehicle. When Sophie asked if he would
7-12 until the new junior high schools accept monetary compensation for his
were opened. At sixteen, she left for- kindness, he replied no, but asked her
mal schooling to enter the workforce if she would be willing to go on a date
and assist her family, taking a position with him. Their ‘sliding door’ interac-
at a dress factory on East Street. There, tion led to a relationship that resulted
colleagues who spoke Polish helped in marriage two years later and eventu-
her master English, fostering her sense ally introduced Sophie to her career as
of belonging and aiding her journey a school bus driver, a role she continues
toward U.S. citizenship—a milestone to fulfil with dedication and compassion
she is most proud of. She again valued to this day.
the support and mentoring she experi-
enced. While the time demands on a spouse,
Ken and Sophie's Wedding Day homeowner, and mother to their three
66 WALLINGFORD MAGAZINE - AUTUMN 2025