SMYRNA - Elizabeth Krajewski Hodukavich, known to family and friends as "Betty," beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, passed away with peace and grace after a 12-year battle with Alzheimer's disease on Friday, March 29, 2019.
A native of Riverhead, Long Island, New York, Betty was born on December 19, 1924, to the late Anthony Krawjewski and Helen Przyborowski. She graduated from Riverhead High School, and worked as a bookkeeper. She soon met John Hodukavich, a tall and handsome Suffolk County potato farmer. Betty and John married on September 10, 1944, and enjoyed a honeymoon trip to New York City. The couple raised seven children, beginning with two daughters and two sons born on Long Island, and then a daughter and two sons born in Delaware, where the family moved in 1956. Over the next several decades, life for the Hodukavich family was centered around the 250-acre farm and 1800s-style farmhouse near Leipsic, owned and managed diligently by John and Betty. Devout Catholics, they shared a life of faith, hard work, family joys, and fun.
Betty was an avid flower and vegetable gardener as well as a talented seamstress, baker, and cook. She was an active member of St. Polycarp parish, particularly the Blessed Virgin Mary Sodality. She was an enthusiastic traveler and visited Hawaii, Northern Europe, Italy, and many destinations across the U.S. Betty enjoyed games of Scrabble and Bingo, reading, yardsaling, fishing with her husband, days at the beach, and family gatherings. She was very health conscious and an ardent walker.
Betty was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, John. She is survived by: her children, Carol Newberry (Paul, deceased) of Smyrna, John Hodukavich (Critchett) of Arlington, Va., Thomas Hodukavich of Tuckahoe, N.J., Diane Weller of Dover, Elizabeth Hinckley (Chris) of Middletown, Edward Hodukavich (Cynthia) of Bozeman, Mont., and Scott Hodukavich of Seattle, Wash.; her grandchildren, Laura Gordon, Daniel Newberry, Joel Newberry, Amy LaFalce, Isaac Hodukavich, Aaron Hodukavich, Cathryn Hodukavich, Tina Hodukavich, Vinney Hodukavich, Leo Hodukavich, and Margo Hinckley; and her great-grandchildren, Alexander, Gavin, Grant, Henry, Gerard, Alejandra, and Fiona. Betty is also survived by two sisters, Florence Volinski (Benjamin) of Lantana, Fla. and Carolyn Edwards (Paul, deceased) of Muncy, Pa.
She was predeceased by three brothers, Edward Krawjewski, Joseph Krawjewski, and Anthony Krajewski; as well as three sisters, Dorothy Jazombek, Helen Krajewski, and Marcella Gocha.
Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 12 p.m. on Friday April 5, 2019 at St. Polycarp Catholic Church, 55 Ransom Lane, Smyrna. Friends may call from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Parish Hall, located at the same address. Burial will be at Holy Cross Cemetery in Dover.
Donations can be made to Delaware Hospice, 911 S. DuPont Hwy., Dover, DE 19901, or St. Polycarp PSR Program, 55 Ransom Lane, Smyrna, DE 19977.
To sign the online guestbook, please visit www.matthewsbryson.com
Arrangements are by Matthews-Bryson Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Smyrna.