The Headstone & The Bush: Looking for the grave of Maria Kricsfalussy Postic Paroda 1883-1952

It just didn’t make sense that Tim’s grandmother would have neglected to buy a headstone to mark her mother’s grave. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the case.

In September 2020, my daughter Abby and I took the dogs for a ride and stopped by the Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cemetery on Ridge Road in Centerville, PA to look for the grave of Maria Kricsfalussy Postic Paroda, the mother of Tim's grandmother Julia Marodi.

We found Julia's grave and the graves of his grandfather Alex Marodi, and uncles Mike and George Marodi. We even found his father’s second grave. (Yes, second grave - keep reading.) Then, not too far away, were the graves of some members of the Paroda family. Maria had married Charles Paroda after the death of her first husband and these were the descendants of that union.

We poked around, but we didn’t find the grave of Maria or Charles Paroda. This bothered me because the records I had indicated that they had been buried in this cemetery.

Tim's grandmother Julia Marodi wasn’t the type of person to leave a grave unmarked. She had been so concerned about her own family’s headstones that she bought them for herself and her sons in advance. She made sure each of her sons had a headstone near hers, not taking into consideration that her married boys might want to be buried by their wives. This is why Tim’s dad Charles Marodi has two graves: the one next to his mother and the one where he is actually buried, which is beside his wife Viola “Honey” Marodi in the Saints Mary & Ann Roman Catholic Cemetery in Marianna. I told my husband a few times that this “double headstone” situation will drive future genealogists crazy. I suggested that we mark the Orthodox Cemetery stone with an explanation, but he said that would be too much work and that future historians will eventually figure it out.

Several months passed, but I kept thinking about poor Mrs. Paroda being buried in an unmarked grave. I finally asked Tim, who is a funeral director, if he thought the funeral home that took care of her arrangements would have any records. Maybe they could tell us where the unmarked grave was so we could buy a simple marker for her.

Tim gave me the name and number of the man who takes care of the cemetery and suggested that I contact him first. When I called, the caretaker explained that he didn’t have the records handy, but he would look at them as soon as he could. He called back a couple of weeks ago to report that he had spoken to one of Mrs. Paroda’s daughters and she told him where the grave was located. He also pointed out that it was marked with a headstone.

So, I visited the cemetery again and this time Tim went with me. As soon as we got out of the car, he spotted the headstones: one for Charles Paroda and another for Mary Paroda. They were right there, plain as day, right next to the rest of the Paroda graves. How did I miss them? Well, I was looking for Maria Paroda and I didn’t take into consideration that Mary and Maria are at times interchangeable, but I don’t think that’s why I missed it. Tim said I must not have looked hard enough the last time. I agreed, reluctantly of course, and walked over to take a couple of photos for my records.

The two markers were tall and plainly marked, but they were nestled very close to a bush that had been planted in the middle of the two graves. The branches were in the way, so Tim had to pull them back while I attempted to get some photos. That’s when it dawned on me that the bush was probably covered with leaves when Abby and I visited the cemetery in September. Was this why Abby and I didn’t see the graves? Whatever the reason, I’m just glad we went back to take a closer look.

Washington Observer-Reporter Feb. 28, 1952

My husband's ancestral line to Mary Kricsfalussy Postic Paroda:

1. Timothy Marodi

2. Charles Marodi

3. Julia Postic

4. Mary Kricsfalussy

by Randi Ross Marodi – randileeross@gmail.com

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