Maria Fuchs

1926 - 2017

Maria Fuchs 1926—2017
Maria Fuchs, 91, of Wonder Lake, Illinois, passed away Monday, November 20, 2017, at her son's home in Rockford, surrounded by her loving family. She was born April 24, 1926, in Yugoslavia to Dominik and Juliana (Hauer) Matheis. Maria and her family faced many hardships during World War II and were forced to flee Yugoslavia in the face of advancing communism. Eventually she and her family settled in Graz, Austria, where she met her future husband, Josef. They were married December 29, 1951. In January 1956, seeking a better life, Maria and her family immigrated to the United States. After arriving at the Port of New York, they finally settled in Chicago, where they began building a new life. Maria and her husband were seasonal residents of Wonder Lake from 1969 until moving there permanently in 1992. Besides her family, Maria cherished the love and friendship of her many close neighbors and friends there. Maria was a lifelong homemaker who dedicated herself to caring for her family. She also took great pride in working as a housekeeper outside the home for several years while in Chicago. Because of her kind and gentle manner, she was well liked and has maintained many friendships throughout her life with the people she served. She enjoyed cooking, baking, gardening and canning, and nothing pleased her more than to share these gifts with family and friends. She loved her extended family beyond measure and nothing pleased her more than to be able to spend time with her nieces, grand-nieces and grand-nephews. She was a faithful member of Christ the King Catholic Church in Wonder Lake, where she spent many hours in service to the church baking for various events and helping to keep the church clean and beautiful. She had a strong faith, was a devout Catholic and prayed the Rosary daily. Maria's gentle, kind and generous spirit touched the lives of many and she will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her. In addition to her parents, Maria was preceded in death by her husband, Josef, on December 24, 2008, and by her brother, Adam Matheis, in 1987. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Joseph and Sylvia Fuchs of Rockford; nieces, Regina (Luzjan) Slojkowski of Fountain Hills, AZ, Elizabeth (Gaylord) Gale of Ringwood, IL, Brigitte Reschke in Germany; nephew, Adrian Fiederer in Germany; and many grand and great-grand nieces and nephews. A special thank you to Dr. Sunita Narang, her kind and compassionate physician of 25 years, and to the dedicated and caring staff of Northern Illinois Hospice, especially to nurses, Natalie and Madelyn.
Visitation will be from 3 until 7:30 p.m., with Rosary recited at 7 p.m. Monday, November 27, 2017, at Justen Funeral Home and Crematory, 3700 Charles J. Miller Road, McHenry, IL 60050. Visitation will resume Tuesday, November 28, 2017, at Christ the King Catholic Church, 5006 East Wonder Lake Road, Wonder Lake, from 9:30 a.m. until the time of Mass. The funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. at the church, with Fr. Joel Lopez officiating and Fr. Zbigniew Zajchowski concelebrating. Interment will be in Christ the King Cemetery, Wonder Lake. For those wishing to send an expression of condolence, her family suggests memorials to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or to Northern Illinois Hospice. For information, please call the funeral home at 815-385-2400, or visit www.justenfh.com, where friends may leave an online condolence message for her family.