1938 - 2024
OBITUARY
Maria Roukis was born in Brooklyn in 1938, and she grew up in Ridgewood, Queens. Maria’s beloved parents were Paul and Therese Geiser, who immigrated to the United States from southern Germany in the 1920s, and she always enjoyed a close and lifelong relationship with her older sister, Irma. Maria graduated from Bishop McDonnell High School in 1956 and Hunter College in 1960. She was part of the first generation of young women to go to college at the time, and she always spoke glowingly of the experience. With a B.A. in History and Political Science, she taught Social Studies in the NYC public schools before marrying, starting a family, and moving to New Hyde Park.
Maria’s passion during her adult life was for her children, Christina, Steven, and Paul. She loved going with her kids to the New Hyde Park swimming pool; swimming and tennis activities; winter ice skating at Christopher Morley Park; skiing; and attending her children’s baseball games. She also enjoyed bringing her nieces and nephews along for the fun – Melinda, Jean, Paul, and Jon. She also loved to travel to learn about history and culture, and her many trips over her lifetime included London, Paris, Rome and Florence, Madrid, Munich and Germany’s Black Forest, Greece, Egypt, Israel, Mexico City, Peru, and more. She had a particular fondness for the city of San Francisco, where she had first traveled in the early 1960s with her good friend Lois Gatto.
Maria lived most of her adult life in the neighborhoods, respectively, of New Hyde Park, Manhasset Hills, and Mineola. In her middle-aged years she was happy to see the marriages of her three children – Christina to Eric Stern; Steven to Laura Love; and Paul to Denise, all from the New Hyde Park area. Maria cherished her friends, and she maintained lifelong relationships with friends from childhood, high school, college, and from all stages of her adult life. Maria was especially proud of her six wonderful grandchildren (in birth order) – Alexander, Helena, Morgan, Anastasia, Evan and Christopher. In multiple conversations she always said that what she valued most in her life
was her relationships with her children, grandchildren, her sister Irma, and her nieces and nephews.
VISITATION
Thursday, December 12
4:00 - 8:00 PM
New Hyde Park Funeral Home
506 Lakeville Road, New Hyde Park, NY
FUNERAL MASS
Friday, December 13
10:45 AM
Notre Dame R.C. Church
5 Mayfair Road, New Hyde Park, NY
INTERMENT
Holy Rood Cemetery
111 Old Country Road, Westbury, NY