Marie Gera

MARIE GERA (nee Andrijciw) (age 102) passed away on Monday, June 24th, 2024. Beloved wife of the late John Gera. Loving mother of Paul Gera and Mary Ann Bushak (Andrij, deceased). Dear grandmother of Jeff Grocky (Amanda), Nick Bushak (Seema), and Lecia Bushak. Cherished great-grandmother of Kabir Bushak. Caring sister of the late Rosalia, Ivan, Nicolai, Stephan, Kateryna, Anastasia, and Ivanka. Dear cousin, aunt and great-aunt of many in the US, Ukraine, France, Germany and Tunisia.

Marie lived an extraordinary life like so many refugees who came to America after WWII seeking a better future. Her story is not unlike the stories of so many of our parents and grandparents long gone—a testament to resilience, faith, and unwavering love.

Born in Velyka Sushytsya in western Ukraine, her early life was shaped by hardship. She helped her widowed mother run the family homestead at 13 as the eldest child still home. During the WWII Nazi occupation of Ukraine, she was sent to Heidelberg in 1941 at age 19 for forced labor. After the war, she lived in the American Red Cross camp in Mannheim as a Displaced Person (DP) where she met her future husband John, also a victim of forced labor. 

Unable to return to a Communist-controlled Ukraine, she placed a personal ad in a Paris newspaper to locate her brothers Ivan and Nicolai in Paris. On a whim, Ivan’s friend showed him the ad at a Parisian café, asking if he might have a sister. They reconnected and he wrote her about their uncle in America who might sponsor her. That began her next life chapter: her paternal uncle Harry and Catherine Andrews welcomed her to Cleveland, OH in 1949. There her American-born cousins Elsie Sawchak, Helen Sawchak and Irene Speth took her in and helped her adjust to her new life. John soon followed her to Cleveland, where they married at St. Peter and Paul’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Tremont in 1950. 

Like many of our Mamas, Tatos, Babas and Didos, Mama & Tato settled in Tremont (later Parma), learned English, became proud US citizens and worked menial jobs to help support their growing family of two children, Paul and Mary Ann. 

After retiring, she helped raise her grandchildren and traveled extensively—Paris, the Loire Valley, Normandy, Houston, Austin, San Francisco, NYC, North Carolina, even Disney World. 77 years after leaving Ukraine, she made an emotional trip to her birthplace to reunite with her sole surviving sister Ivanka in 2018. Her family in Ukraine in Lviv, Mosti, and Velyka Sushytsya finally got to meet their aunt and great-aunt, who never forgot them over the years; she’d supported them with packages and letters for which they were grateful.

She volunteered for St. Josaphat’s as a loyal pierogi pincher, a consummate baker for any church occasion, and active parishioner until COVID struck. Her lemon blueberry cake was a staple at the pierogi coffee-break table.

Marie was devoted to her family that spanned three continents, to her faith and to the larger Ukrainian community in Cleveland.

Marie stayed positive and active throughout the last years of her life in spite of limited mobility. She was open to any adventure, and even navigated Progressive Field steps to attend her first Cleveland Indians baseball game at 96. At 100, Baba was the center of attention at her grandson’s wedding, fist-pumping to hip-hop in her wheelchair, surrounded by millennials. The last Mass she attended was on her 102nd birthday. 

Our Baba passed away on what would have been her late son-in-law Andy’s 70th birthday. We’re sure Andy was first in line to welcome her, alongside her huge family and so many friends who have long ago departed this world. She taught us how to live, and how to die. Honor her legacy by mirroring her life of unconditional love, kindness to all, and a fierce spirit to live, no matter the odds. Vichnaya Pamyat, Baba Maria. Forever in our hearts.

Family and friends are invited to a visitation on Sunday, June 30th, 2024 from 5 PM – 8 PM (PARASTAS 7 PM) at Kolodiy-Lazuta Funeral Home 5677 State Rd. Parma, OH 44134. Funeral Service Monday, July 1st, 2024 at 10 AM at St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral 5720 State Rd. Parma, OH 44134. Interment St. Andrew Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St.Josaphat Eparchy for Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine www.stjosaphateparchy.com/support-ukraine/ or Razom www.origin.razomforukraine.org/donate/