Johanna Bandurian

Johanna Maria Bandurian

July 19,1930 - October 15, 2025

Johanna Maria Kronig, our Mom, was born on July 19, 1930 in Myslowice, Poland. Her father, Bruno, worked on the Polish railroads before opening a small store in the building where the family lived. Mom remembered those wartime evenings when she would sit at the table, listen to the radio, and glue customer ration tickets onto newspaper pages, which her father later traded at the commissary office for food to keep the family business going.

Tragically, Mom's mother, Helen, passed away from tuberculosis when Mom was only three years old. Her only memory of her mother was at the funeral. Three years later, her father remarried, another Helen, and with the help of aunts and uncles, they surrounded Mom with love and family care.

At the end of World War II, life changed forever. When the Russians took control of Poland, Germans were forced to leave their homes. Her father was arrested and sent to Siberia; he died en route. Mom, her stepmother, her cousin Cecelia, and others began a long, uncertain journey to Germany, first by train and later on foot, not knowing where they would end up. Eventually, they found shelter in Stuttgart.

In Stuttgart, Mom began working in a jewelry store, and it was there that fate intervened. She met her future sister-in-law, Georgette, and a lifelong friend, Tasia. One day, Georgette invited her on a double date with her boyfriend's brother, and that's where Mom met the love of her life: Grigor Bandurian.

Grigor and his brother, Melik, were living in an Armenian labor camp nearby. After a year of dating, Grigor told Mom he had an opportunity to go to America, and he invited her to come with him. So, in 1948, they married in the camp, and two years later they arrived in Boston, sponsored by the local Armenian Church.

Just two months later, their first son, Peter, was born; and a year later, Richard followed. The household language was Russian, but once the boys began school, English also soon became part of everyday life as the boys helped their parents learn.

Both Mom and Pop worked hard, taking any job they could and saving little by little until they could fulfill Grigor's dream of moving to California. In 1960 they made the move, and by 1962, they bought their first home in Montebello. There, surrounded by friends from their camp days and close to the Armenian Church, they began living their California dream.

Home was always at the heart of Mom's life. Though she worked more than 30 years at Catalina Swimwear Corporation, she always made sure her boys were well-fed, well-schooled, and surrounded by family and friends. Despite having little cooking experience when she left Germany, she became an amazing cook, turning out wonderful meals from Russian, German, Armenian, and American traditions.

When the boys grew up, Mom and Pop moved to their "house on the hill" in Hacienda Heights, with a stunning view of the valley below and mountains beyond. They loved to travel - by car to Colorado to visit Peter and Charlene when their grandkids Michael and Robin were born, and later around the world: to Poland, Russia, throughout Europe, parts of Armenia, and cruises through the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

In 1994, they moved once more, this time to Huntington Beach, to be near Richard and Vicki and their growing family of grandkids: Teresa, Sara, and Kari. Johanna also took on a leading role in keeping Pop active as his health slowly declined.

After Pop's passing in 2009, Mom carried on with grace, strength, and faith. In 2019, she moved to Oakmont assisted living, where she made many friends and was known for her kindness, her warmth, her smile, and her remarkable life story.

Johanna leaves behind a loving family who will forever cherish her memory: her two sons and daughters-in-law, Peter & Charlene and Richard & Vicki; five grandchildren and their spouses: Michael, Robin, Teresa & Jared, Sara, and Kari & Caleb; and three beautiful great-grandchildren: Lily, Pearl, and Melanie.

Mom's journey began in a world at war, filled with hardship and uncertainty, yet it blossomed into a life of love, family, laughter, and home. She taught us perseverance, faith, and the power of love that spans generations.

May she rest in peace, surrounded by the love she built and the legacy she leaves behind.