Anna Cecelia Serabian

Anna Cecelia Serabian, age 92, of Fredericksburg, VA passed away Saturday, April 16, 2022 at Mary Washington Hospital, while surrounded at her bedside by her immediate family. She was born on April 13, 1930 in New York, NY, as the daughter of the late Mary and Krikor Apoian.

She retired as an Executive Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education. Anna graduated with an Associates of Arts Degree in Business Administration from Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, VA. Among her family, she was the first person of her and preceding generations to complete a college degree program in the United States.

She met her husband of more than three decades, while he was an Active-Duty U.S. Marine, in Norfolk, VA, while working at the business of her lifetime, childhood friend from New York City. The happy couple retired in Vienna VA following her husband’s retirement from active duty at Headquarters Marine Corps, now known as Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, where her children learned to swim. While living at Camp LeJeune, she used her creative gifts to make ceramic pottery on base for her home, friends, and family. She learned hair styling so well, she became licensed professionally.

While retired, she regularly attended flea markets to find bargains, as a vendor, and especially to make new friends, to add to her wide, multigenerational friend network. She enjoyed cooking Armenian food, better than the best restaurants, for holidays, birthdays, and special occasions.

She often brought food to her neighbors, friends, and family members in times of their greatest need. She served on the Boy Scout Committee and Boards of Review for scouts of all ranks up to board of review for one son’s Eagle Scout Bronze Palm.

Her unique faith fueled her “courage to live” approach to living, when facing life’s most difficult challenges, enduring them to the greatest longevity of her family for all generations. She was determined to create the greatest longevity for all generations, in order to honor her ancestors, and create more longevity for her descendants.

In retirement, her passion was supportively attending her grandchildren’s and great grandchildren’s schools, seasonal extracurricular activities, and recitals.

Her husband, John Anthony Serabian, Sr. and daughter, Christine Annette Serabian preceded her in death.

She is survived by her daughter, MaryAnn Serabian Wyatt (William) of Fredericksburg, VA; three sons, Dean Gregory Serabian (Elaine) of Deer Park, TX, John Anthony Serabian, Jr. (Donna) of Fredericksburg, VA, Michael Joseph Serabian of Fredericksburg, VA; 10 grandchildren, and 12 great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends from 2:00-4:00pm Sunday, April 24, 2022 at Mullins & Thompson Funeral Service, 1621 Emancipation Highway, Fredericksburg. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30am

Monday, April 25, 2022 at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.

Loving memory donations may be made in Anna’s name to the America Cancer Society https://www.cancer.org/involved/donate.html or to or Life with Cancer https://www.lifewithcancer.org/get-involved/ways-to-donate/