Anna Reiter-Jodziewicz

Anna Carolina Sedlak Reiter Jodziewicz passed away peacefully at age 102 on October 29, 2025. She was born, the daughter of Johann and Elisabeth (Roehrich) Sedlak, in Becicherecu-mic, a German speaking village in Romania, on September 29, 1923. Her mother and twin sister, Elisabeth, died several days after her birth, and her paternal grandmother Anna Sedlak took over her rearing.
The Russian advances in 1944 resulted in an almost complete evacuation of her town, and the family fled to Lohnsburg, Upper Austria, a six-week journey on foot covering over 350 miles in wartime conditions. Accompanying her father and stepmother were their four daughters including Anna. In Austria her fiancé Mathias Reiter rejoined her, and they married in 1945. She was the last living family member who made the trek.
With their sons Joseph (born 1946) and Mathias Thomas (born 1947) Anna and Mathias sailed on the MS General Harry Taylor for 7 days and arrived at Ellis Island in November 1951. They were sponsored and met by an uncle, named Caspar, and settled in New Brunswick, NJ to start a new life by learning English, finding employment, joining new church and neighborhood communities and raising their children. In 1956 Anna became an American citizen.
Mathias, her first husband, died suddenly in 1973. Anna continued to work cleaning houses and at Quaker Oats in New Brunswick and then with quality control at Bristol Myers Squibb. Anna valued hard work and took great pride in her industriousness - plucking a chicken perfectly clean, washing windows streak free, lining up perfectly paired shoes and baking her favorite cookies, the kiflis.
She remarried in 1976, and with her husband Zygmunt Jodziewicz retired to Venice, Florida in 1982. They loved to travel, especially to relatives in Austria, Germany, and Poland, and to pilgrimage sites in Europe. They were active at their church and with neighborhood watch. They gardened and grew fruit frees, walked on the beach, and especially enjoyed the visits of their children and many grandchildren from all parts of the US.
Anna was widowed again in 2001. She then moved to California living with her younger son and family. Her favorite phrase was "Like I all time say" followed by "God blessed me with two wonderful marriages and families." Anna's stepson, John Jodziewicz, succumbed to cancer in 1995, as did her younger son Mathias Thomas in 2006, and daughter-in-law Deborah Jodziewicz in 2023. Anna remarkably beat cancer in 2001.
Anna loved being active, and even into her nineties, continued to knit hats and slippers for the newborns in hospitals and scarves for servicemen and women. She was a skilled craftswoman who also shared her talent with the extended family by crocheting intricate tablecloths and ornaments, as well as warm blankets and sweaters. In her later years, she became an avid bingo player who loved to count her winnings and call out cheaters.
Her optimism and energy inspired all who knew her. She believed in the power of hope, family, hard work and prayer. She was blessed with an impeccable memory and loved to talk and share her stories. She recalled every conversation she ever had and knew each individual ingredient in every meal she lovingly prepared. She could accurately recite the extended family's birthdays in chronological order, and knew precisely to the penny the amount of every one of her pension and social security checks and the cost of flour and bread throughout each decade.
She is survived by her son Joseph and wife Janice Reiter of Exeter, NH., her daughter-in-law Barbara Reiter of Winters, CA, and by her stepchildren and spouses, Stanley Jodziewicz of Fort Myers, FL, Thomas and Janet Jodziewicz of Irving, TX, Diane and Gary Austin, of Chandler, AZ, and Ingrid Jodziewicz of Tumwater, WA. She is also cherished by thirteen grandchildren- Mathias, Christine, Heidi, Aimee, Juliette, Elizabeth, Joseph, Lori, Amanda, Ethan, Michelle, Tom, Elizabeth, and their families, thirteen great-grandchildren and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.