Mary Tragus Stubberud

May Tragus Stubberud passed away on March 30th after a short illness. Her husband, Allen, and younger son, Stephen, were by her side. Her husband was continually by her side throughout her illness and her hospitalization.

May was born in Los Angeles, the first child of Peter and Angeliki Tragus, Greek immigrants. She was always proud to tell people of her birth place and her Greek heritage. She grew up in the Greek community of the ‘San Julian’ church which later became the Saint Sophia Cathedral community in Los Angeles. In 1961, she met and married the love of her life, Allen Stubberud, with whom she spent over 61 blessed years. She supported him in his career, wherever it took him. While he spent time with his work, including several years in DC, she took care of the household, including bearing and raising two sons, Peter and Stephen. She was passionate about her sons and their education, wearing out a couple cars driving them to private schools in Orange County. One of her proudest moments was when both her boys earned their PhDs in Engineering. Probably a prouder moment was when they presented her with three grandchildren, Allen (aka AJ), Allison, and Angelique, whom she adored dearly.

May and Allen were founding members of St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church in Irvine. After moving to Irvine in 1971, May and her family attended several of the Greek Orthodox churches from Redondo Beach to Anaheim, but after St. Paul’s was founded, that was her church and, in spite of some mobility issues, she attended services regularly. She and her husband loved to travel. Much of her travel, from Seoul, Korea to Istanbul was in conjunction with her husband’s work. She especially enjoyed the time when he was Chief Scientist of the US Air Force and she was treated like a general’s wife. During that time she met several astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin, and John Denver, the singer. She had a passion for shopping. She had such pep and energy that people could not believe she was over ninety. She always needed to be the hostess when friends or family visited even, as she grew older, when they asked her to relax.

The Trisagion service will be held at 7:00 PM on Thursday, April 6 at St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church, 4949 Alton Parkway, Irvine, with the funeral the following day, April 7, at 10:00 AM.

May is survived by her husband Allen, her sons Peter (Laura) and Stephen (Adelina), her grandchildren Allen (aka AJ), Allison, and Angelique, and her brother Tom Tragus (Evelyn). She will be sorely missed by her nieces, nephews, cousins, and numerous friends.

May her memory be eternal.