Marija Grabar

Marija was born in Petanjci, in what was then Yugoslavia in 1928. She suffered the ravages and deprivation of the second world war, with successive armies sweeping through her little village at various times. After the war, she, along with her husband, escaped from Communism to neighboring Austria in 1951, only to have to spend four years in a displaced persons camp, waiting for a sponsor, to allow her and her family to immigrate to a country that would receive them. That finally came in 1955, when the family settled in Rochester, New York. There, she worked and made a life for her family. She loved her children and grandchildren mightily, and will be remembered for her warmth, and for the affection she bestowed on all those around her.

She is survived by her sons, Franc (Mary Ellen), John (Martha), grandchildren; Christopher (Whitney), Erica and Sarah, a cousin Emma, and many nieces, nephews, and friends in Slovenia, Canada, and the United States.

She also asks that a special appreciation be endowed upon Vikorija Hunt, her in-home caregiver in the final few years.

There will be no prior calling hours. Marija's Funeral Mass will be celebrated Monday, January 6th 2020 at 9:30am at Our Mother of Sorrows Church 5000 Mt Read Blvd. where the family will receive friends at 9am. Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Memorial Contributions may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105. REF newcomerrochester.com