Eugenie Groza-Parrott

Eugenie Ivanavna Groza-Parrott Dec. 15 1909 - Nov. 15, 2010 Eugenie, the oldest daughter of the late Marfa Milenko-Groza and Ivan Ivanovich Groza, passed away peacefully on November 15, 2010 in San Francisco. She was preceded in death by her parents and siblings, Kathryn, Arcadie and Vasik. She is survived by her sons, Ivor, his wife Susan, and Arcadie,his wife Margaret; her grandchildren Steven, Katherine, Karen, Rowena and Fiona; great-grandchildren Audra, Stephanie, Hudson, Erika, Nicholas, Naomi, Zachariah, Trevor and David; great-great grandchildren Emily, Chloe and Aidan. Her joys in life were her family, friends, travelling and cooking. She celebrated birthdays, holidays, and religious days by hosting and cooking sumptuous meals for her family and friends. Religion was a large part of her life and she volunteered much of her time and love to the Russian Orthodox Church. Eugenie was born in Harbin, Manchuria and lived there with her family. Shortly after the death of her mother in 1929, her family moved to Shanghai, China where she met William Richard Parrott. They were married on February 4, 1934 and Eugenie became the loving stepmother of William's one year old son Ivor Richard. Eugenie and William had a son Arcadie William who was born January 7, 1935. The development of World War II made living conditions in China difficult and on August 24, 1941 Eugenie evacuated the family to Australia. Her husband elected to stay in Shanghai. Upon their arrival in Sydney on October 11, 1941 Eugenie and her sons settled at the Britannic Mansions boarding house in the suburb of Mosman. Eugenie made many friends with people whose lives were similarly impacted by the war. She worked as a seamstress, volunteered at the USO and the Merchant Navy Club. She and other volunteers were presented with a civilian medal by the Governor General's wife. After the war, Eugenie was unable to reconnect with her husband. They divorced in 1946. In February 1949 she moved the family to San Francisco, California to be near to her father, sister Kathryn and brother Arcadie. This was the beginning of a very happy and long-lasting reunion. Eugenie worked for I.Magnin & Co until her retirement. She devoted her retirement time to family, friends, travelling and Church activities. Her favorite summer pastime was vacationing at the beaches in La Jolla, California with her grandchildren. Eugenie enjoyed classical music and played the piano. She proudly took her oath of U.S. citizenship on January 6, 1998. In 2005 Eugenie had a tragic accident causing partial amputation of her right leg. She endured months of rehabilitation at On-Lok Senior Care and eventually learned to walk with a prosthetic leg. Eugenie spent her last years at Age Song-Laguna Grove Care. The family wishes to express their thanks to employees of On-Lok Senior Care and Age Song-Laguna Grove Care for their extraordinary kindness that kept her in comfort. Eugenie was a wonderful, beautiful, person with a generous heart, strong willed and incedibly caring. She will leave behind a piece of her soul in each person she has touched and will live in the hearts of her family and friends forever. Funeral services will be held at Holy Virgin Cathedral, 6210 Geary Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94121. Internment will be at the Serbian Cemetery, 153; 1801 Hillside Blvd, Colma, CA 94014.