Ioana Petra was born on May 24, 1926 in Căpâlna, Romania. She was the daughter of Ilie and Maria Teacoe. She was raised in Căpâlna, a small village in northwestern Romania. At the tender age of nine, her father passed away and shortly after, her mother, Maria, passed away when she was only 14 years old. She was an orphan and sought a roof over her head. Local shephards adopted Ioana into their family and she became a shepherdess as a means to earn her keep. She married her late husband, Vasile Petra on February 24, 1948. They had ten children; she is survived by seven of them: Maria Todor, Ilie Petra, Elena Gociu, Vasile Petra, Ieremia Petra, Georghe Petra, and Aurelia Falub. In 1991, she immigrated to the United States of America and lived in various homes, going back and forth between the cities of Buena Park, Fullerton, and Riverside, CA.
Grandma was unbelievably kind and generous. Her heart and her generosity knew no bounds. We remember her door was always open, just as her heart was always open to all of us. When she lived in Riverside at the Cambridge Gardens Senior Homes, all family and distant relatives, friends and neighbors knew they had a place to stay for a few minutes, a few hours or for a few days. Often times, her sofa in her living room housed a family member visiting from out of town. We will always remember her hospitality and her famous bread, savory sarmale, heartwarming mămăligă cu lapte, the red, sweet, juicy tomatoes plucked from her garden, the cozonac, and her supă de tăiței. Some of our favorite memories are of Ioana taking a warm loaf of cozonac out of the oven, slicing it and serving it with a cup of milk, coffee, or hot tea.
Moreover, she donated much of her time to others. Some of her favorite pastimes included reading, gardening, listening to music, knitting, crocheting, and sewing. She loved to spend time with the Lord by reading the Bible multiple times a day and praying fervently for her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. She knitted and crocheted hundreds of articles of clothing for family, friends, and neighbors. Many of us still remember the panci, veste, and throw blankets she made. Many of her daughters and granddaughters are blessed to have baby blankets they can pass onto their children. What a precious memory and keepsake to last through the generations! She was a hard worker and was truly selfless in the giving of her time.
Her most beloved home was her cozy apartment #26 at the Cambridge Gardens Senior Homes in Riverside, CA. It was there she formed special friendships with local residents. Some of her closest friends were Sora Maria Tripon, Sora Ana, Sora Furdui, Sora Vetuța, Sora Stela, and many others. She attended Tabor’s Romanian Pentecostal church for over 15 years, where she made lifelong friends she treasured deeply. She loved to sing along in church, go to prayer meetings, fast and pray for her family and dearest friends, and was always known to extend a helping hand to those in need.
Grandma was inspirational. She was the matriarch of our families, like a cornerstone that kept us together, no matter the miles between us. We are truly blessed and honored to have known such a wonderful woman of God. She truly was the perfect mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great grandmother and friend. We will miss her beautiful sky blue eyes, her smile, sweet kisses, warm hugs, words of encouragement, prayers, and salutations of “Domnul cu tine” or “Și eu te iubesc.”
We love you, Ioana Petra. You will be greatly missed.
“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Colossians 3: 12-17
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.AchesonandGraham.com for the Petra family.
