Milda Dambrauskas
Oct. 1, 1934 - Mar. 30, 2022
Milda Dambrauskas, 87, of Sierra Vista, Arizona, passed away at her home on Wednesday, Mar. 30, 2022. Milda was born on Oct. 1, 1934, in Picaiciai, Lithuania to the late Gery Fricas and Donna Baukyte. She was raised in Lithuania until the Russians invaded during World War II when she was forced into the Groβ-Hesepe displaced persons camp in Germany until the end of the war. She, her sister, father, stepmother, and stepbrother were sponsored by the Lutheran church and came to the United States in 1951. They spent a year on the farm in Middletown, IN, working off their sponsorship before they moved to Chicago in 1952.
Milda was a lab tech in Chicago until she “retired” when she married Vincent Dambrauskas on April 7, 1956. As a military spouse and mother, she spent over two decades raising four children, moving, managing the household, and parenting alone during Vince’s unaccompanied tours in Vietnam and other maneuvers. When Vince retired from the Army and then private industry, they finally retired to Sierra Vista in 1998.
She enjoyed swimming, knitting, crocheting, playing bridge, going to the casino, and doing the New York Times crossword puzzle in pen. Her gift for knitting and crocheting were not only shared in the numerous clothing items she was always making for family and friends, but she also volunteered with Magic Hands, teaching students at the local elementary school how to knit and crochet.
Milda was a member of the Military Officer’s Association of America Spouse’s Club, Winterhaven Bridge Club, and St. Andrews Catholic Church.
She is survived by her son Peter Dambrauskas of John Day, OR; her daughter Donna Mazer and her husband Steve of Glenwood, MD; her daughter Sofia Hein and her husband Steve of Loveland, CO; her son Paul Dambrauskas and his wife Billie of Williamsburg, VA; and her stepbrother Victor Fricas and his wife Cynthia of Northbrook, IL and Naples, FL. She was the proud grandmother to six grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband, Colonel Vincent Dambrauskas, USA, Ret.
As per her wishes, Milda will be cremated and a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church at 800 Taylor Dr., Sierra Vista, with Fr. Gregory Adolf as celebrant on Friday, April 22, 2022 at 10 a.m. Interment will follow in the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery at 11 a.m. where she will be reunited with her late husband Vincent. A reception will be held at St. Andrew church immediately following the interment. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers that any friends consider making memorial donations to charity in her name to Catholic Relief Services (<https://www.osvhub.com/standrewsv/funds/catholic-relief-services>)
Assisting the family is Hatfield Funeral Home.
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