Mary Church

Mary Juba Church, 93, a forty-two-year resident of Alexandria, VA passed away on Monday, August 13, 2018.  She was born in Homestead, PA the daughter of the late Michael Juba and Anna Matus. After graduating from St. Francis Nursing School in Pittsburgh, PA she became a nurse in the United States Air Force advancing to the rank of Captain.  While stationed at Shepherd Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, TX she met and married her husband Arnold James Church. Moving around the country with her military husband, Mary never strayed far from the military, working as a nurse at the VA Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts; Malcolm Grow USAF Medical Center at Andrews AFB; Dewitt Army Hospital at Fort Belvoir, and Alexandria Hospital in Alexandria, VA.  As a devoted wife, mother of four, grandmother of eleven, and great-grandmother of six, her family was the source of her greatest joy. She also loved getting her hands dirty while gardening, walking the family dogs, boating on the Potomac, and riding on the back of her husband’s latest motorcycle while both were attired in helmets and black leather jackets. She and her husband loved sitting on the front porch every evening while watching the walkers and bicyclists enjoy the Mount Vernon bike trail.  Her life was well lived.

Mary is survived by her daughters Judith DeLaGarza (Vincent) of Morgantown, WV, Cathie Blewitt (Ted) of Alexandria, VA, Susan Lightner (Larry) of Gaithersburg, MD, and daughter-in-law Patty Church of Atlanta, GA.  She is also survived by her grandchildren Kara Church (Robert Hovden), Stephanie Coleman (Ryan), Jennifer Wilson (Grant), Annemarie Grubler (Adam), Alie Kraft (John), Diane Lightner, Annalisa DeLaGarza, Kellie Williams (Brad), Lara Nguyen (Phong), Christopher Blewitt, Patrick Lightner; great-grandchildren Aiden and Kinsley Coleman, Miller Wilson, Teagan and Lainey Williams, Elizabeth Kraft.; and numerous nieces and nephews. Mary was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years Arnold James Church, her son Arnold James Church Jr., her sister Ann Juba, and her brother Michael Juba, and brother and sister-in-law Richard and Ethel Church.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday, August 22, 2018 at 11:00 am at Cunningham-Turch Funeral Home, 811 Cameron Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.  Interment with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), 26 Broadway, 14^th Floor, New York, NY 10004 or www.jdrf.org/.