Virginia Ann Alyea

Virginia Ann Alyea was born on March 29th, 1926 in Detroit, MI, where she lived the first 55 years of her life. She was the 3rd of 4 children of Linus and Agnes Schnurr. Virginia married twice and survived the sudden and unexpected loss of her both her husbands, Harry Buzbuzian and Raymond Alyea.

Virginia moved to San Francisco in 1981 to open and operate a successful business with her daughter Denise. She retired in 1991. Virginia subsequently moved to Sacramento in 1993 where she lived the last 30 years of her life. She is survived by her 8 children: Debra Malone, Fr. Harry Buzbuzian, Denise Lyon, Dr. William Buzbuzian, Sandra DeMartini, Cheryl Deagon, Gary Buzbuzian and Tina Schmidt. Additionally, Virginia also leaves behind 12 grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Virginia loved her family and would be the first to tell you they were her life. In addition, Virginia loved her country, travel, regular exercise, her cat, chocolate and coffee, country music, attending mass, being independent and above all, God.

Virginia lived her life with grace, gratitude, patience, humility, humor, self-respect, kindness and compassion for all of God’s creations. Her house was always open to those who needed companionship, a roof over their head and a warm meal. She regularly hosted large family get-togethers and Holiday meals, which were always joyfully celebrated with her family, extended family, and friends.

Words cannot express how much Virginia, our mother, will be missed. It is hard for us to accept we will no longer see her beautiful, clear blue eyes looking at us with so much love and acceptance. We will sorely miss her wisdom, accrued from a lifetime spent overcoming adversities and hardships, as well as successes and good fortune. Her final years of life were spent relying on others for her care, an adjustment that did not come easily for someone who spent her life giving and sacrificing so much for her loved ones. She was always grateful to those who provided this care and made a point of saying so regularly. She was not a complainer, accepting what God put before her. “God will never give me more than I can handle” was a creed she lived by and taught to her children through her own example. So we, her loved ones, know whatever sadness or misfortunes that come our way that we have been shown how to accept and overcome them.

A memorial mass will be held at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Sacramento on March 29th 2023 at 11am to honor and celebrate this cherished woman’s life and legacy.