Maria Bojczuk

Maria (nee Kusmenko) Bojczuk entered into eternal life on Tuesday February 20, 2024, at 96 years old with her loving family at her side. Maria was born in Bela, Belarus to the late Simon and Euphrosynia (nee Kaminsky) Kusmenko. She was the 6th of

13 children.

Maria was the wife of the late Michael Bojczuk; mother of Wasyl Bojczuk and his wife Patricia, the late Anna Hebert and her husband, Robert, Mary Wuethrich and her husband David, and the late Nadia Bojczuk; grandmother of Michael Hebert and his fiancé Molly Meller, Katie Hebert, and Alexandra Wuethrich.

While her documents say she was born on May 15, 1929, she was actually born on April 25th, 1927. To survive during World War II after being forced into a labor camp, her age was altered so she could have a less difficult job: filling artillery shells with gunpowder. She defied the Nazis’ orders by filling them with dirt. Risking death if she was caught, she turned the bullets into duds and perhaps saved thousands of Allied soldiers' lives. After the war, she emigrated to Belgium, where she met Michael Bojczuk and had Wasyl and Anna. In 1957, she came to the U.S. to give her family a new life in South River, N.J., where Mary and Nadia were born. Maria was a Knitter with the Algro Knitting Company in Milltown, N.J. for several years. She lived in South River up until 2012, when Superstorm Sandy forced her and Nadia to evacuate to Somerset, N.J. for 5 years. She later moved to Union, N.J., where she lived for the remainder of her life.

A faithful Orthodox Christian, Maria regularly attended church and sang with church choirs in South River, Highland Park, Brooklyn, and South Bound Brook. Maria was a member of the Belarussian Woman’s choir. She was one of the dwindling nonagenarians of native Belarusian speakers and instilled the love of her culture in her children and grandchildren.

A caring mother, Maria made delicious borscht, shchavel, kobaski, potato salad, and krushchky. Her holiday dinner table was always filled with a wide variety of food. She was a master on the sewing machine and preferred to use the old Singer with the treadle instead of a foot pedal. She had a talent for “negotiating” the best price. She was a shark at fuss ball and was an awesome dancer. She enjoyed berry picking, sitting on the deck in the sun, and watching old movies. As a loving grandmother, Maria will be remembered by her grandchildren for blowing the spirits out of their ears, handing them bags of junk food when dinner was going to be served in an hour, and making care packages of iced tea juice boxes, wafer cookies, bags of marshmallows and strawberry candy. She kissed the hurt away on skinned knees and always showered them with lots of hugs, kisses and I love you’s. She was a superfan of professional wrestling, known to even watch it in Spanish. Her love for her children and grandchildren was profound. Despite her challenges & struggles, she raised four beautiful children on her own.  She made many sacrifices to make her family happy.

The visitation will be held on Wednesday February 28th, 2024, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Union Funeral Home Lytywn & Grillo, 1600 Stuyvesant Avenue, Union. N.J.. The Funeral Service will be held on Thursday February 29th 2024 at 10:30 a.m. in Saint Andrew Memorial – Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 280 Main Street, South Bound Brook, N.J. 08880. Interment to follow in Saint Andrew Ukrainian Cemetery, South Bound Brook, NJ.