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- March 10, 1925 – March 7, 2023
Genevieve Mocniak peacefully passed to heaven to be with her beloved husband Henry on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 under the care of Hospice at the Northgate residence. She would have celebrated her 98th birthday in a few days and the family think she may have left because she knew about the "I'm 98 today" tiara and sash that had been purchased for her to wear at her party.
Genevieve was born in Niagara Falls, NY on March 10, 1925, to Regina and Valenty Siuta, and attended local schools. In 1942 she began working at the Bell Aircraft plant in Wheatfield. She was a "Rosie the Riveter". She loved sharing stories about using a rivet gun to attach a strip of metal molding to hold the plexiglass on the aft cabin of the P39 Aircobra. With so many family and friends serving in WWII, she felt she was doing her part in the war effort.
She fell in love and married "the soldier boy next door", Henry, and together celebrated 64 wonderful years of marriage before his passing in 2010. Together they raised five children, Christine (late John) Bialik, Daniel (MaryAnn) Mocniak, and Carol Mocniak, all of Niagara Falls; also, Frank (Lorraine) Mocniak of West Henrietta, Rochester, and Regina (Carmen) Mauro of Ridgeville, Ontario.
She was an excellent cook and taught her daughters and granddaughters her secrets for delicious pierogi, golumbki, placek and other Polish dishes. She always had enough to feed anyone who walked in despite the fact that she didn't know they were coming! She knitted and crocheted sweaters, scarfs, mittens, afghans, Barbie doll clothing, christening outfits and other apparel. If you received one of her carefully crocheted full tablecloths, you were really special!
Her children's clothes lasted forever because she mended and repaired any tears or rips with patches from her large sewing supplies. She lengthened hems and let out seams as they grew. Heaven forbid if you wore a pair of jeans that had rips or holes. Grandchildren who visited her were admonished for the current style of jeans and she wanted them sewn and patched!!!
One of her greatest thrills was baking and decorating cakes for her daughter's and her grandchildren's weddings; and birthday cakes were an opportunity to hone her skills in different ways and were a sight to behold; she was a perfectionist.
She was a voracious reader: newspapers, 2 or 3 novels a week, magazines, closed captions on the television, signs, and t-shirts if they had any writing on them. She was always reading!!! If something had words on it, she would read it! She loved word searches and always had her trusty bag with at least 10 books and 25 pens near her recliner.
She loved her summer cottage at Long Beach, Ontario where she would wield a broom, weed trimmer, paint brush, or hammer with finesse. Rumors abounded that she and her husband would take an occasional midnight swim when the rest of the family were asleep, but she just smiled slyly when questioned about it. The annual Mocniak family reunions held at the cottage, complete with her son's Polish band, were legendary and looked forward to by everyone. She loved her Canadian "summer home" and she loved her "Cottage friends" who she considered extended family.
She is survived by 13 grandchildren, John Bialik, Jeanine (Christopher) Cheers, Christi (Brian) Ash, James Mocniak, Philip (Michelle) Mocniak, Carolyn (Barret) Anderson, Jenelle Mocniak, Mark Mocniak, Frank (Jacqueline) Mauro, Andrew (Sara) Mocniak, Tess (Isaac) Waxman, Valerie Mocniak, and Joseph Mocniak. She is also survived by 16 great-grandchildren. She had many family members that she considered "favorites" – her favorite son, favorite daughter, favorite grandchild, favorite niece or favorite nephew … suffice to say we'll let them battle out who the favorite really was.
She was the last of her siblings, predeceased by her brothers William, Gus, Walter, John, Joseph and Stephen and her sisters Virginia Zasucha, and Lottie Zak. She outlived all her generation of friends and relatives, as well as the Queen and Betty White who she read about continually.
Special thanks to Kevin Sandmaier, Maggie, and also the caring staff at Northgate and Hospice who adopted her as their "Babci."
Visitation will be Friday, March 10, from 3:00 to 7:00 at the ZAJAC FUNERAL HOME Inc., 319-24 St, Niagara Falls, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, March 11, 10:30 AM at Divine Mercy Parish, 2437 Niagara Street, Niagara Falls, NY, with Rev. Richard Augustyn officiating. Burial following in Holy Trinity Cemetery, Lewiston, NY. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Niagara Hospice, Niagara County SPCA, or the Card Ministry of Divine Mercy Parish.
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