Anna Gergel Cuza Happoldt

Anna Gergel Cuza Happoldt, age ninety-nine, formerly of Massillon, died on Sunday, June 25, 2017 at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She was born on March 7, 1918, in Canton, Ohio, to the late John and Maria (Bota) Gergel, who immigrated from Romania. She had five brothers - Eli, John, George, Theodore, and Paul -- and three sisters -- Vera, Florence, and Helen. All have predeceased her except for her youngest sister, Helen Inderwish of Suwanee. Georgia. Anna’s early life was spent on a farm in Robertsville, Ohio. In 1934 at the age of sixteen, she moved to Columbia Heights in Massillon to get a job. At that time, the Heights was primarily a Romanian neighborhood in the shadow of Republic Steel. She married Charles Cuza in 1936 and they had two daughters. They owned and operated Cuza’s Grocery until his death in 1963. She was then employed for twenty-six years in the deli at Bordner’s in Amherst Center. In 1972, she married James Happoldt, who died in 2002. She moved to Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 2010 to be near her daughter, Patricia. Anna was someone who was always busy. In her younger years, she was an active member of the Romanian-American Women’s Club, the Red Feather Agency, and the Community Chest. She did exquisite embroidery and crocheting, and she loved working in her garden. She attended the First Methodist Church for over sixty years. Even after not being able to hear the sermon, she attended church every Sunday because she said she liked the music and the people. In addition to her daughters Patricia Cuza of Hattiesburg, Mississippi and Donna Silva of Southport, North Carolina, she is survived by four granddaughters: Cybele (Duke) Moscrip, Sabrina (Stephen) Kolwaite, Samantha (Jon) Burns, and Laura (Christian) Kuhn -- and six great-grandchildren: Harper and Connor Haney; Spencer and Mitchell Kolwaite; Christian and Emma Kuhn, and Eva Burns. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews of the Gurgle, Gergel, Detwiler, Inderwish, Orsburn, and Seichei families. Funeral service will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 1, 2017, in the Paquelet & Arnold-Lynch Funeral Home, Massillon with the Rev. Leslie Peine officiating. Burial will be at the Massillon Cemetery. Calling hours will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, June 30, 2017 and Saturday, July 1, 2017 from 9:30a.m.-10:30a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the First Methodist Church, 301 Lincoln Way East, Massillon, Ohio. Messages of condolence may be sent to the family at www.arnoldlynch.com Paquelet & Arnold-Lynch Funeral Home 330-833-4839