Maria Segal passed away peacefully on March 24, 2026. Maria was born in Okuniew, Poland, a small village outside of Warsaw in 1935, or possibly a year or two earlier.
Her father was a shoemaker; she had six siblings and lived in a very traditional and loving Jewish shtetl (community). All of that disappeared when her family was marched to the Warsaw Ghetto at the start of World War II.
Maria’s family took refuge in a single room of a relative in the ghetto. After a year or so, Maria escaped with Stasia, a woman from her village, to look after her cow.
Maria’s blue eyes, small nose and command of the Polish language enabled her to pass as a Polish Catholic girl (She once said, “I was a good Catholic.”)
After being cast out as too big a risk for Stasia to continue sheltering her, Maria was found wandering the streets by Wanda. Wanda, at age 18, risked her life and took Maria in and cared for her for the next seven years.
In Wanda’s words “what could I do? she was so little, so scared, so hungry.”
When we traveled to Poland four years ago to meet Wanda, it was clear Maria had adopted Wanda’s mannerisms. Maria was the only one from her family to survive and was the only known Jewish survivor from Okuniew. We owe Wanda everything.
After the war, Maria made her way to France to her Uncle Abraham, who was an Auschwitz survivor. In 1950 Maria immigrated to Montreal, Canada, through the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and was taken in by a wonderful family, the Lerners.
She graduated with a teaching degree from MacDonald College of McGill University. Later she earned her master’s in social work from Arizona State University.
Shortly after beginning a teaching career in Montreal, Maria met her husband David at a Jewish singles resort in Schroon Lake, New York, which led to many funny questions.
Maria and David were married 24 years and raised three children Michelle (Scott), Laura (Ken), and Glen (Lauren).
Maria loved us fiercely and unconditionally and was always there for us. There was nothing she would not do for us. She wouldn’t talk about her childhood or her trauma to give us the childhood she did not have.
She taught us to care, and boy did she care. Maria was always giving.
She picked up and helped anyone that needed aid: a destitute family that needed to travel from Maryland to California, endless help to the children she protected as a social worker, she cared and fought for justice, she worked in food kitchens in Santa Barbara and later in life she told her story in schools so people would not forget.
Nothing gave Maria more pleasure than her six grandkids: Izzy (Chase), Alex (Ashley), Anna, Jack, Zach and Lindsey. When not cooking for them, she would be on the ground playing with them whether dolls, trains, blocks, or art projects.
She would lead the grandkids and their friends in songs and dances; “I’m a Little Teapot” and “Ring Around the Rosie” were favorites. She had unlimited love and patience for them.
Of course there was food. She loved to cook and loved to feed us, her grandkids and virtually everyone with whom she came in contact.
For the grandkids there was a never-ending parade of chocolate chip omelets, crepes, French toast, latkes, lemon squares and more. For dinner there was beef bourguignon, shrimp scampi, chicken soup with matzoh balls, brisket, duck, escargot, and the occasional rabbit.
Saying no was not an option. Who else would fly across the country with a fully cooked turkey or send a batch of homemade beef jerky to London?
It was not uncommon for her to show up to dinner with a baggie of french toast for later. She touched the lives of so many students through food, bringing her portable frying pan to her lectures to make everyone fresh latkes.
Maria loved to paint and draw. Wildly creative art projects including batik, tie dye, oil paintings and costumes for our home movies were always a big part of our childhood and continued with her grandkids.
Izzy, her oldest grandchild painted life-sized portraits of three Holocaust survivors as part of her college honors thesis. Maria’s art projects had a lasting impact on her descendants that continues today.
Finally, we have to mention Maria’s little dog Remy. He was Maria’s last baby and great love in the later years of her life. Remy loved his ‘walks’ in his stroller, eating table scraps, and getting belly rubs. He died a little over five years ago. He was a very special part of Maria’s life.
Nobody had a bigger heart than Maria. It showed through in every aspect of her life. Her heart and extraordinary strength enabled her to survive. We will always love you. We will never forget.