Marie Lauka

LAUKA, MARIE (CONNIE) Age 96, September 14, 2010. Marie Lauka died on September 14, 2010 at the age of 96. She was born in Czechoslovakia on January 23, 1914 to Michael and Anna (Dina) Kmety. She was raised in the small village of Zvolen (near Prague) and often told stories of how she tended the geese on her grandmother's farm during the summers, for which her grandmother would buy her a brand new pair of shoes. At the age of ten, young Marie traveled to the United States with her mother and older sister Anna to join their father that had come years earlier to set up a home for his family. They settled on the east side of Detroit in Hamtramck and she thereafter remained a Michigan resident. Marie loved going to school and received high grades in reading, writing and arithmetic. However at the age of 14, she had to leave school and enter the workforce to help support the family. Using her sister's name and birth certificate to meet hiring age requirements, she found a job making cigars at a nearby factory where she worked for several years. She was a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Warren for more than 30 years and attended there along with her daughter and grandchildren, always sitting in the third row on the end (so she could see and hear all that was going on). As a teenager, Marie was enamored with Hollywood and the starlets and fantasized about being a movie star herself. With her delicate features, beautiful hair and fashionable style, her friends said she resembled Constance Bennett and began calling her "Connie," a nickname that remained with her the rest of her life. Her awe with movie stars continued throughout her life as we recall her "love affairs" with Rudolf Valentino, Clark Gable, Henry Fonda, Nicolas Cage, Richard Chamberlain and finally Cary Grant in "An Affair to Remember," which she watched 2 or 3 times every day during the final 100 days of her life. Beautiful and social young Marie loved getting together with friends and often attended socials and dances at the Slovak Church, where she eventually met the love of her life. Their courtship included weekly trips to the picture shows, picnics and more dances. Marie married Joseph Lauka at Holy Trinity Slovak Church on Oliver Street in Detroit on June 9, 1934. They had three sons and two daughters and shared many interests and hobbies throughout their 40-year marriage until Joe's death in January 1975. A forever restless soul, Marie always needed to keep busy. She enjoyed good health and a strong mind for most of her life so she was involved in many activities. Her interests included sewing, crocheting, needlepoint, traveling, bowling, watching old movies and especially playing cards. In testament to that, she and the Alcoy Ladies Pinochle Club met without fail every other week for more than 35 years. She and Joe enjoyed entertaining, and card parties would often go into the wee hours of the morning playing pinochle or poker sometimes having to pull out the Book of Hoyle to settle a heated debate on the rules. With a bug for adventure, travels took her to Spain, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Brazil, the Grand Canyon, Hawaii and on several cruises. Bus trips with the local Senior Citizens Group took her to Niagara Falls, Frankenmuth and Hershey, PA, as well as many Michigan casinos (oh how she loved the quarter slots). Often labeled as feisty, high spirited, spunky and sometimes ornery, Marie never hesitated to let you know what she felt, but everyone knew that was just her nature. She survived the Depression, stood in soup lines, haggled with butchers and learned to scrape together every nickel just to survive. She was indeed a survivor and fought until the very end when she finally and peacefully gave up the fight. For those she left behind, stories about her strong will and stubbornness will be remembered with laughter and wonderment about what made her tick. We will surely miss her. Marie is survived by her five children and their spouses, Bob and Kathy, Tom and Pat, Joe Dennis and Janice, Pam and Mel, and Cyndi and Joe. She also had 17 grandchildren (all 10 grandsons served as pallbearers), 32 great-grandchildren and 6 great-great grandchildren. She was pre-deceased by her husband Joe, parents Michael and Anna, sister Anna, and daughter-in-law Arlene. Dovidenia, mil Matka (Goodbye, dear Mother). Dfam, že sa opť stretn (I trust we will meet again . . .) Boh vm žehnaj, (God bless you) Visitation at A. H. Peters Home, 32000 Schoenherr at Masonic (13-1/2 Mile) Warren, Saturday 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. and Sunday 2:00 to 9:00 p.m. Funeral Service Monday Christ Lutheran Church, 32700 Schoenherr, Warren Instate 10:00 a.m. until time of service at 11:00 a.m. Interment at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Detroit.

Funeral Home:

A.H. Peters Funeral Home of Warren

32000 Schoenherr Road,

Warren, MI

US 48088