Marie Pavia

Marie Pavia, age 88, passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 25, 2020 at an assisted care residence in Troy, MI.

Marie was born in Buffalo, NY on March 25, 1932 to Walter and Frances Kowalski. Marie moved to Salamanca in 1954 where she met and shortly married Jim Pavia, her loving husband of over 40 years, who predeceased her in 1996. Marie remained a resident of Salamanca until 2019 when she moved to Michigan in order to be closer to one of her daughters.

Marie grew up on Buffalo’s east side and had a good childhood until her parents died when she was still a teenager. Her brothers raised her until she left to pursue a career in nursing. She attended Edward J. Meyer Memorial for three years followed by a year at the University at Buffalo. She performed her training in Sidney, NY with a public health nurse before spending another year at Syracuse University. She recalled working in the hospital wards with patients affected with the poliovirus, and wished she were younger so she could help those with the current virus.

She enjoyed the beautiful countryside in Western NY and after completing her nursing education, she went to work in Salamanca and remained there for the majority of her life. Her first job was for Dr. Gardner, visiting pregnant mothers once a month to give parenting lessons. She later worked with Dr. Godfrey, an orthopedic specialist for the Buffalo Bills. She took some time off from nursing while she raised her young children. As the children approached school age, Marie changed career paths to become a teacher at the former St. Patrick’s school, initially as a substitute teacher, then as a sixth-grade teacher. She moved on to teaching practical nursing at BOCES, and during that time, completed a bachelor’s degree in Education. She loved teaching her students and kept in close contact with many of them after they graduated.

In retirement, Marie spent time traveling to National Parks, and attending Elderhostel trips to Poland, England, and Chautauqua among others. She attended daily mass at Our Lady of Peace, and bible study classes, in addition to walking, knitting, reading, and saying the rosary. She loved playing cards and dominos with her friends and going to the Salamanca Area Senior Center for dinners. Her favorite pastime was visiting with her children and grandchildren across the country and spending her winters in Florida for many years. Marie was highly sociable; she could strike up a conversation with anyone at any time and always left the other person with a smile. She will be deeply missed by her family and friends.

She raised four devoted children: Mark (JoEllen) Pavia, Cindy (Roger) Dunbar, Rosemarie (John) Reilly, and Maureen (Frank) Jardim, and was blessed with five grandchildren: Dustin, Eric, Lauren, Matthew, and Julian.

She was predeceased by her husband, Jim and three brothers, Ted, Danny, and Gene. Marie was also predeceased by her longtime companion, Carol Korzeniewski in 2018. She met Carol in Florida shortly after both their spouses had passed and they enjoyed playing tennis and ping-pong together. They made many friends from across the country while wintering in Florida for over 20 years.

A memorial mass will be held at Our Lady of Peace Parish, Salamanca, NY Monday, July 12, 2021.

Condolences can be sent to 3621 Burning Tree Drive, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302.

Local funeral arrangements are under the direction of the O’Rourke & O’Rourke Inc Funeral Home, 25 River Street, Salamanca, NY.

Marie supported many charities in her lifetime. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to her loving church Our Lady of Peace, 274 Broad Street, Salamanca, NY (https://www.olpsal.org), your local PBS station (WNED Western NY PBS), the Unbound Program (www.unbound.org), or Feeding America (https://www.charities.org/charities/feeding-america).