Richard John "Dick" Godlewski was a record distributor and owner of music stores whose career spanned four decades. He established three companies-- Eastern, Allied, and Associated record distributors--all in East Hartford, One Stop Music Service in East Hartford, and retails stores in Springfield, Massachusetts.
A valued leader in the greater Hartford Polish community, he established the Annual Polish Invitational Golf Tournament, and helped organize the Polish University Club of Connecticut, the Bal Menuet, and the annual Carol Sing at Hartford's Polish National Home.
He was a member of the Polish Cultural Club of Greater Hartford and of Ss. Cyril and Methodius and St. Brigid's parishes. A Trinity College graduate, Dick received a Doctorate in Humane Letters from Alliance College. A friend to many and an enthusiast of all things Polish, Dick was a long-time supporter of the Polish Studies Program at Central Connecticut State University.
He was born on June 4, 1923, and died on March 6, 1993, after a courageous battle with heart disease. Dr. Godlewski was survived by his wife Joan, daughter and son-in-law, Jodi and Jeffrey Melvin, and grandson, Christopher Robert.
The Godlewski Evening of Polish Culture was funded by a bequest from the late Dr. Richard Godlewski.
The Godlewski Evening of Polish Culture was inaugurated in 1994 with a talk by an author Suzanne Strempek Shea.