Maria Jonzier

Maria Galland Jonzier was the youngest of four children, born on July 22, 1934, to Eugene Galland and Elizabeth Krause Galland, in Geneva, Switzerland. She was the baby of the family, thus earning the nickname “Cikite” or “little one” derived from Italian, her father’s native tongue. Growing up, she was adored by her parents and her siblings. From a very young age, Maria had the eye of both a naturalist and an artist. She loved being out in nature. She loved colors and beautiful shapes. Throughout her life, Maria loved to travel, explore, and learn as much as possible, both within and beyond the boundaries of her home country. She traveled as often and as far as she could, taking in different cultures, cuisines, traditions, music, and art. She had spunk and drive and she loved life. Following high school, Maria enrolled in Geneva’s Ecole des Beaux Arts, in the study of studio art, where she thrived. After graduating, she became a specialist in the restoration and conservation of oil paintings. Her expertise was sought by those who valued the care and time she devoted to all her projects. She had an eye for light and color. She never rushed but took the time to do her work right and brought many a work of art back to life by restoring areas of chipped paint, repairing tears, and removing yellowed and hardened varnish. Her goal was, as best she could, to restore each of the works assigned to her to the condition of the original piece. Later, becoming a fine artist herself, Maria created the most beautiful ceramic objects, glazing them with her own mixtures of color and baking them in her own kiln. She also sculpted with hammer and chisel on many different kinds of stone, creating willowy and gracious curves and shapes, some abstract and some realistic. Over the years, she generously shared some of her works with family and friends and had some displayed at local art shows. In recent years, working with a hammer and chisel became a bit more difficult. Yet Maria did not stop her creative work. Rather, she took up painting in water color. She sometimes complained that she wasn’t very good at it but everyone who saw her work knew better. She was extremely good at it. Her favorite subjects for watercolors were inspired by what she observed in nature: a view of the shore at sunset, a bird on a branch seen through a window, the early morning view from a porch on a mountain cabin following a nighttime snowfall. For many years, Maria and her sister, Mathilde, were on a Nassau County registry of residents willing to take in wounded or lost wild animals and birds to house them, feed them, and bring them back to health so they could be released back into the wild. Maria took her responsibilities seriously and in an outdoor structure erected adjacent to her home, carefully and kindly fed and cared for a series of animals and birds, including several opossums, a pair of swans, several raccoons, and at least one wounded owl. Maria was an avid gardener of flowers, fruits, and vegetables and a wonderful cook and baker. Her Quiche Lorraine and Mirabelle Tart were exceptional. As all who knew her knew well, Maria had an infectious laugh and an exceptional sense of humor. She loved to laugh, to tease a little, and to make others laugh. She always seemed to have a twinkle in her eye when she did so. She was a lover of all varieties of music, ranging from the classical cello of Yo Yo Ma to African party music and she loved going dancing at Reggae clubs in New York with her friend Francoise. With her love of nature and the outdoors, in recent years, even as Maria’s health failed, she insisted on having a bird feeder at her kitchen window and keeping it filled with only the very best quality of seed, as well as hanging a fresh geranium plant in a basket outside her window where she could see it, as soon as the threat of frost had passed. Maria was a loving mother to Catherine and Marc and a loving grandmother to Shannen and Antony. She was a sweet and kind mother who loved her children and saw to their every need, indulging their love of nature, animals, birds, bugs, and even snakes. Following the birth of her grandchildren, she relayed many stories of good times spent with them and of the joy her grandchildren brought her. Maria was a devoted wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, great aunt, grandmother, and friend. Her family and friends will miss her greatly. May she rest in peace.

Maria Jonzier

March 28, 2024