Genealogy / Finding grandmother's sister born in Chrzanów, Poland [2]

Hello all. I want some advice.

My grandmother was born and raised in France, though her parents were Polish. After the war, she married, and later moved to Canada, while the rest of her family returned to Poland. She remained in contact with them, mostly by telephone and through letters, and mostly with her older sister. In the last 2 or 3 years, however, my grandmother has received no new message from her sister, and wants to know if perhaps she has died. Is there a way to find out? Are there civil authorities she can ask?

Sorry for the vagueness of this message. I'm a little reluctant to give out too many personal details on an internet forum. Additionally, I'm asking out of a concern my mother mentioned -I haven't spoken with my grandmother directly. Her sister lived in Bytom, or possibly Katowice, was born in Chrzanów, Poland, and would be 86 years old now.

I suppose it's worth mentioning that my grandmother can speak Polish, but has difficulty reading and writing it. She does have Polish friends who can help with that. Obviously, her computer skills aren't so strong. ;-)

Thanks in advance for all responses.

- Chris

BTW great site. I'll be back later for some translation help.