Anna was born Dec. 11, 1927, in Weirton, W.Va., to the late Anna (nee Mihaila) and George Cristian.
After graduating Weirton High School in 1946, Anna attended the Art Institute of Pittsburg, Pa., to follow a career in fashion design. She moved to Cleveland in 1948, where she met her husband of 70 years, Dan Shofar Jr. Dan was a bartender in a bowling alley in Cleveland. Anna would often fondly recall how she felt heart flutters whenever he looked up and winked at her.
Anna and Dan joined St. Helena’s Romanian Byzantine Catholic Church in Cleveland in 1948, where they remained devoted active members to present. The couple got engaged in 1949. Due to Dan being called away to duty for the U.S. military, they had a last-minute wedding Aug. 27, 1950. The couple lived on a military base in New Jersey for two years before moving back to Cleveland’s westside and sharing a house off Clifton Boulevard with Anna’s parents.
After their son and daughter were born, Anna and Dan bought a house in Parma Heights in 1956. Anna’s parents bought the house next to her and Anna’s sister and brother-in-law bought a third house next to them. Anna and Dan lived in their Parma Heights residence for 61 years. After several years staying at home to raise their children, Anna started working part time at May Company in Parma in the silver department. She later worked 13 years part time at Cuyahoga Community College in Parma in the business office. She retired when her third grandchild was born to help take care of her, as well as her fourth grandchild three years later.
One of Anna’s greatest passions was her Romanian culture and teaching Romanian dancing to children and adults. She was a member of the Sezatoarea Romanian dance group from 1957 to 2007. She received many awards from the State of Ohio for being the dance group director. Other favorite hobbies included traveling, crocheting, puzzles, volunteering at the church, weekend bus trips with friends, and spending time with family and her cherished grandchildren.
In addition to being the beloved wife of Dan, Anna was the loving mother of Nick (Nellie) Shofar and Ginny (Mark) Messina; devoted grandmother of Cristian (Rebecca) Shofar, Cassandra Shofar, Taylor (Adam) Paler and Taryn Messina; and great-grandmother of Olivia Shofar and Parker Paler.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, George Cristian Jr., and sister, Virginia (nee Cristian) Gib.
Due to COVID-19, private services will be held.
If desired or in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Holy Family Hospice (Parma) or St. Helena’s Church (Cleveland).
