Obituary: Zhenia (Emily) Greszes
Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, aunt, sister, and everyone’s “Mama,” Zhenia (Emily) Greszes passed away on Dec. 27, 2024, on the second night of Hanukkah at the age 101 years old.
Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, aunt, sister, and everyone’s “Mama,” Zhenia (Emily) Greszes passed away on Dec. 27, 2024, on the second night of Hanukkah at the age 101 years old. She was known to those that loved her simply as “Mama” as she took on the role of grandmother to so many.
Her family, for whom she’d always been a guiding light, source of inspiration, and beacon of strength, celebrated and surrounded her with love just a few short hours before her passing.
Born on Feb. 25, 1923, in the Soviet Union, Zhenia and her family fled the pogroms and antisemitism to move to Cuba where she graduated with a degree in pharmacy from Havana University and met her beloved, Ben Greszes. Zhenia and Ben were married for 63 years and had three beautiful children. After struggling to immigrate, in 1961, they finally began their life in Atlanta, living as a family of five in a one-bedroom apartment after fleeing Cuba to find a better life in the United States.
In Atlanta, Zhenia and Ben took on every challenge together and built a meaningful life within the Toco Hills and Beth Jacob community, raising their children with a focus on Jewish education and values and regularly attending services. She held a variety of jobs, volunteered, and partnered with Ben in every business endeavor he took on. Ultimately, Mama became a grandmother and great-grandmother which she found to be her most fulfilling role.
Later in life, she took care of her beloved Ben for many years who suffered from Alzheimer’s. After Ben’s passing, Zhenia’s resilience was ever-present. She started a new season of life, learning how to drive, take on tai chi, and practice swimming to keep herself busy and social. She moved into the Renaissance on Peachtree and quickly became an active community member, participating in every activity offered, consistently raking in winnings for her great-grandkids during daily, high-stakes candy Bingo games.
Zhenia was a storyteller, an eternal optimist, a lover of music and dancing, “Wheel of Fortune,” and “Jeopardy,” Kahlua and dessert, playing Bingo and reading the newspaper, and most of all — family and faith. Family was her everything and she lived for every moment, every party, every play, recital, wedding, graduation, bar mitzvah, and simcha she could soak in, down to her final hours watching her great-grandchildren play dreidel beside her.
Her love, comfort, and light will be forever missed by so many around her and shine through everyone blessed to be a part of her world. She is survived by her three children, Lidia Peljovich (Israel), Miriam Saul (Danny), and Mario Greszes, seven grandchildren (Jerry, Alan, Jamie, Courtney, Marshall, Sam, and Will), nine great-grandchildren (Alex, Jake, Drew, Ryan, Flynn, Benni, Ryan, Cori, and Olivia), and endless friends and extended family.
Funeral services were held at Crestlawn Memorial on Sunday, Dec. 29, with Shiva services observed at the home of Lidia and Israel Peljovich, led by Rabbi Feldman of Beth Jacob. Donations can be made to the The Davis Academy, The Epstein School, or the Atlanta Jewish Academy. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care.
comments