by Linda Cutshall

On June 27 Maria Varga went to be with our Lord in heaven. Maria’s life in our church community began over 50 years ago. You’ll enjoy reading excerpts from an article written in 1982 telling how Maria came to Bethany:

"Thousands of persons who survived the battles and bombings in Germany during World War II were left in hopeless predicaments, including the Varga family.

Bela Varga was Hungarian. He was a skilled mechanic; a machine tool-maker. During World War II he entered Germany as a Hungarian soldier and was imprisoned. After the War he was released and went to work for the American Army. There he met Maria Kuffner, who worked for the American Red Cross. They were married in October, 1945.

During the Reconstruction phase following V-E Day the couple found themselves without a homeland. Bela did not dare return to Hungary, which was then under communist rule. Maria, by marrying a foreigner, had lost her German citizenship. They were part of a class of homeless refugees known collectively as the Displaced Persons.

For a time the Vargas were separated; Bela being in a detention camp – much like being a prisoner-of-war again. Later they were both confined in a camp awaiting deportation. The confinement was under horrible conditions.

A plea went out to Presbyterian Churches to sponsor “D.P.” families for relocation in the United States. Bethany responded and brought the Vargas to Seattle. In December 1950, shortly before Christmas, the family arrived: Bela, Maria and little Bela, not quite 4. Jon was born on Easter Sunday, 1951.

Bela senior was employed for a time with a Boeing contractor. Unfortunately, the collective trauma Bela had experienced took a toll on his health resulting in the loss of his job. After Bela’s hospitalization he and Maria worked together as custodians of Bethany. Bela worked in the yard while Maria handled the inside work.

In 1955, Maria was officially appointed Custodian at Bethany and served us into the early 1990’s with devotion and efficiency."

During Maria’s Memorial Service neighbors shared how much they missed Maria: Now nobody knows what’s going on in the neighborhood! Her son’s grown friends remembered how Maria welcomed, fed and always kept tabs on their lives. Just the mention of the orange V.W. Rabbit brought laughter!

Sylvia Lidell’s words spoke for many: “When I began as secretary at Bethany in 1989, Maria was a fixture at the church. She was a comfort for me as I began learning my job, and the ins and outs of Bethany and its people.

When Maria turned 65 she was supposed to retire. We had a nice dinner thanking her, but of course she hated the attention! In fact, she spent more time during that dinner in the kitchen trying to help than sitting at her table.”

I shared using M.A.R.I.A as an acronymn:

Mother of all
Always around
Resourceful
Information source
Available…

Maria would often say, “ Bethany is my family.” She found her identity among us. Maria applauded our joys and wept with us in our sorrows. She scolded us, bossed us around, and loved us attentively. She was a hard worker and giver, always going out of her way to help others. Maria was our friend. We will always miss her.