Mona Nassar (Mona Serophim) came into the world like a welcome present, arriving just eight days before Christmas Eve, 1940. After 85 remarkable years, she was called home (to the place she first belonged) on a warm summer morning, August 4, 2026.
Mona grew up cherished by her father, Hannah, loved deeply by her mother, Marie, and playfully teased by her older sister, Cecile. But her childhood was filled with so many more who loved her.
Mona grew up in a family village, uncles, aunts, grandfathers, grandmothers, and cousins, so many cousins, all together under one roof in a large multi-family home. It was days filled with playtime and laps and long meals together, and Mona remembered it all with the kind of fondness only deep love can build.
It’s little wonder love of family became the undercurrent of Mona’s life. She loved family with every ounce, every inch, of her being.
Soon, it wasn’t just her family of origin. There was the dashing young tennis star and promising student who she would marry, Rudy; entering stage right was her beloved son who she told time and again, “you can do anything you set your mind to,” Carl; and finally a daughter born with an abundance of spunk and stubbornness, ready to live life on her terms, Christine.
This tiny trio became the center of the world, what Mona built her life around each day. But Mona, true to her origins, was always bringing together more family… there were trips to see mothers and fathers and cousins and aunts and uncles and great aunts and great uncles; and then there was the welcoming them in turn, with plates of food and soft couches, whenever they made trips to see her.
As best as Mona could, she kept the family village fire burning.
It’s little wonder Mona was famous for her hospitality. She welcomed friends and family alike with as much food as they could possibly eat and a graciousness to match, giving to everyone what she most adored from her own childhood: a sense of welcome and warmth.
Mona never did get much of a chance to travel the world, to see places like Rome and Madrid, but she journeyed to far more precious places, into the hearts of all the many people whose lives she touched.
Thank you, Mona. For everything