Maria’s family fled Ukraine. Maria made the journey to Germany by foot. Maria and Herman immigrated to Paraguay in 1948. After homesteading several years, they ran a dairy farm in Brazil. They immigrated to Vancouver in 1958 and moved to Abbotsford to farm broilers in 1977. Maria began to struggle with severe arthritis in the 1990s. In 2001, when she was diagnosed with cancer, she prayed for 5 more years to live. God gave Maria 12 years in which she trusted him to sustain her. Her grief over the August 2012 death of her youngest, Ernie, led to an acceleration of her declining health. Gardening, cheese making, sewing, and crocheting were Maria’s favourite activities.
