Barbara Ann Grantonic

On March 9, 2026, Proverbs 31 woman Barbara Ann (Rozsa) Grantonic passed gently into heaven and the waiting arms of her Savior, Jesus Christ. She was 92.

Born September 29, 1933 in Wintersville, Ohio, Barbara was the daughter of Hungarian immigrants. She learned the value of hard work on the family dairy farm, picked up the English language in grade school, and went on to graduate from Wintersville High School.

One Sunday morning in the mid-1950's, Barb slipped in the icy parking lot of Blessed Sacrament Church and was "rescued" by a chivalrous young man who helped her safely to her car. On May 14, 1955, in that same church, she married her knight in shining armor, John Grantonic, and their 70-year adventure began.

Moving to Youngstown, Barb and John started a family and didn't stop until they had seven kids. That's a lot of "pancakes." Barb embraced her role as a mom and excelled.

"For starters, we sat around the table every evening for lively family dinners and Mom served delicious fresh homemade meals. Even spaghetti noodles were made from scratch. Chicken and dumplings were one of her specialties and her strawberry pies were legendary. She also packed lunches, helped with paper routes, kept scrapbooks, taught us to polka and to appreciate a good Hungarian csárdás. She sewed costumes, Raggedy Ann dolls, and elaborate Barbie doll wardrobes. Coincidentally, she passed on National Barbie Day. At the end of the day, she taught us to pray kneeling by our bed and tucked us in at night.

Our mom never allowed us to be lazy. You want something? Don't look for a handout. Work for it. She encouraged industry. On summer mornings, for example, she would take us to the fields to pick 75-100 quarts of fresh juicy red strawberries. Then we pulled a loaded wagon through the neighborhood and sold them door to door to neighbors. Sales were good. Before long, our mother-supervised entrepreneurship paid off. We were able to ditch the wagon and just sold our fresh strawberries at the end of the driveway. This went on for years. We sold thousands of quarts of strawberries and paid for a lot of things. Even college tuition."

Mom was a doer and a lifelong learner. When the lack of a driver's license impeded her dreams, she secretly took driving lessons and surprised us one day with car keys and a license. When she wanted her kids to have music lessons, she saved quarters until she had enough to buy a piano. That paid big dividends: Two children and three grandchildren have music degrees. One even has a music school. When she wanted to help our dad with his insurance business, she enrolled in a difficult accounting class at Youngstown State. She struggled, but she passed. When she wanted to take a deep dive into the Bible, she enrolled in incredibly demanding classes at a Moody extension school. She faced her fear of public speaking and delivered a message about Jesus at a retreat.

She learned how to decorate cakes and once baked and decorated 40 Mother's Day cakes in one weekend to support a Holy Family Youth Group project. At the Christmas holidays she would bake a couple of hundred delicious kolachis and sell them. The whole family benefited from her profits. At the age of 79 she made her first overseas trip courageously embarking on a Hungarian Heritage trip organized by her granddaughter and nephew.

Through it all, we watched and learned.

When Mom was a little girl on the farm, she witnessed a cat climb a fence to get to a bluebird nest. It devastated the helpless family of young birds. Horrified, she intervened and almost killed the cat. It got away but that cat never knew what it started! Barb became a nature advocate and, as an adult, raised the delicate bluebirds. She set out birdhouses, served up mealworms and monitored progress constantly. She was heartbroken (all over again) when disease or natural enemies snuffed out life, and exuberant when one of the beautiful bluebirds lived long enough to leave the nest.

But it didn't stop there. She strategically planted flower gardens that attracted songbirds, hummingbirds, Monarch butterflies and pollinators. She grew Milkweed, the essential host plant for the survival of Monarch caterpillars, raised Monarch butterflies, and her gorgeous property was designated a Monarch Waystation for the endangered Monarch butterfly population.

She also grew prizewinning flowers like First Lady marigolds, zinnias, red tulips and giant burgundy "brain celosia" cockscomb. Starting them out as seeds in her greenhouse, the flowers bedecked her stunning yard like jewels. If an organization was willing to help, she provided plants for plant sales and community beautification projects. The Holy Family Choir, her grandsons' boy scout troop and New Middletown Skate Park all benefited from her generosity.

Our mom was a class act, head to toe, inside and out. Entertaining was her gift. When she entertained, every detail was covered: table setting, exquisite food. She had Martha Stewart beat by a mile. She made it look easy and she did it with style. When she dressed up, she was polished and classy. She always wore earrings and jewelry, and her nails were polished to the day she died.

Mom had a magnetic personality. Everyone wanted to be around her, and she was loved by all. She brought people together. She had lifelong friends and made new ones wherever she went. Her kindness won over many contentious neighbors. She shared food, cleaned their homes and even served as their end-of-life caregivers.

Maya Angelou, American writer, poet and civil rights advocate once said, "People will forget what you say. People will forget what you do. But they will never forget how you make them feel." And mom made everybody feel special. YOU were her favorite.

A stroke in 2015 left our mom cognitively present but partially paralyzed, unable to speak, read or write. Most of us would have given up in two days, but she courageously persisted for eleven years. Through non-verbal face and body language, she still expressed her thoughts, opinions, and unconditional love and acceptance. You still knew you were special by the way she kissed your hand, smiled and looked into your soul. She had the unique ability to see the quiet, the lonely, and the hurting. No one in her presence remained unnoticed - she gently brought people in, made space for them, and made them feel they belonged. It is her greatest legacy to her family."

Barbara was preceded in death by her parents the late Gabor and Helen Vincze Rozsa; sisters, Helen Butcher, Mary Nemeth, Anna Kuruc, Lizzie Kuruc, Margie Fodor, Francis Piccolomni, and Katie Grantonic; and brothers, Gabe Rozsa, Joe Rozsa, and infant brother, Alex. She was the last surviving member of her generation of the Rozsa family. She leaves behind children Anna Marie (Gary) Francisco, Patti (Jerry) Evans, Barbie (Glenn) Patton, Tom (Karen) Grantonic, David (Jill) Grantonic, Andrea (Tod) Reiser, and Matthew (Colleen) Grantonic, multiple grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Family and friends may pay their respects 8:30 to 10:30 am Friday, March 20, 2026 at Higgins- Reardon Funeral Homes, Poland Chapel, 2726 Center Road, followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. at Holy Family Church.

Barbara will be laid to rest next to her late husband John Grantonic in Poland Riverside Cemetery.

To honor our mom, please read Proverbs 31, dress up classy now and then, plant some flowers, love your family, and reach out to people the rest of the world overlooks.