Mary Fadukovich Hart was born to Yosef & Varvara Fadukovich on August 7, 1930, in Joliet, IL. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Johnathan M. Hart, Jr, her parents and her brother Joseph Fadukovich, and three sisters, Olga, Marfa, & Nashtya, who died in Russia in the great flu epidemic during the Russian Revolutionary war while being sent by cattle car train to Siberia. The sisters are buried in unknown graves along the Siberian railroad.
As an early teen, Mary became aware of a spiritual element missing in her life. Eventually, she was invited to church and soon began reading and understanding the Bible and attending services. After a time, she learned that all people are sinners and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) but God’s Son gave his life so that we can have eternal life through his sacrifice, if we confess our sins and accept Jesus as our Savior (Romans 10:9).
Mary, whose primary language in youth was Russian, grew up in a Russian immigrant town called Rockdale, IL. She graduated in 3 years as valedictorian from Joliet Township High School and attended Anderson College in Anderson, IN where she graduated as salutatorian. She met Johnathan M. Hart, Jr. at Anderson and they married, having two children, David Keith and Melody Joy. She was offered a position at the UN as an interpreter but turned it down for family reasons. She and her husband John settled in Illinois where he was a civil engineer and she became a teacher and taught for 30 years.
In 1995, Mary and John, who were retired, served as missionaries to Russia for 1 year with Commission. They served in Sumy, Ukraine and in Chelyabinsk, Russia.
Mary was a member of Northside Baptist Church.
Mary is survived by her son David (Anna Marie) Hart and her daughter Melody Joy (Gary A Benjamin) Hart, 7 grandchildren David Petit, Joseph (Alyssa Baumann) Petit, Sarah (Jeremy) Mouw, Asa (Krista) Hart, Josiah (Miho) Hart, Jared (Adrienne Joy [A.J.]) Hart, & Rachel Hart, 2 step grandchildren Nicholas and Kirsten Benjamin, and 8 great-grandchildren Iris Petit, Judah Mouw, Jordan Mouw, Samuel Mouw, John-Luther Hart, Lorna Mae Hart, Nanami Esther Hart, and Isaiah Hart.
Visitation will be 4:00PM to 7:00PM Friday and 10:00AM until 11:00AM Saturday at Woodfin Memorial Chapel. Funeral service at 11:00AM at Woodfin Memorial Chapel. Burial to follow in Evergreen Cemetery. www.woodfinchapel.com
