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Obituary for Felicia Morerea de Guijarro
Felicia Morera de Guijarro was born April 21, 1943 in the ethnically Romanian, Banat region of Serbia. In 1958 her parents, Very Reverend Ioan Ivascu and Psa Valeria, and brother Cornel immigrated to the United States under the sponsorship of Archbishop Valerian Trifa and the St. Mary Church in St. Paul Minnesota. When they arrived, they spoke very little English and were embraced by the St. Paul Romanian community. By the next semester she was on the honor roll and graduated with honors from George Washington High School. She went on to study at the University of Minnesota and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in political science with a minor in Spanish. In fact, she spoke five languages fluently.
Soon after graduating from college in June 1969, she was employed by 3M in their International Division. To perfect her Spanish language skills, she requested and was granted a transfer to the 3M Madrid Office a year later. It turned out that not only did she perfect her Spanish skills at the 3M Madrid but also met a young ambitious man, Jose Antonio who turned out to be her soulmate for the better part of 52 years. Although the attraction was immediate, Jose Antonio and Felicia did not immediately realize that they were destined to be together. Felicia resigned from 3M and returned to the United States to join her family that had relocated from St. Paul to Southfield, Michigan.
Soon after moving to Michigan in 1967, she secured employment at the Chrysler Headquarters. As fate would have it, Jose Antonio was transferred to St. Paul, Minnesota and after a long-distance courtship they tied the knot and she returned to St. Paul with Jose Antonio to make their first home together. Jose Antonio’s position would take them to Brussels, Belgium next and then finally back to Madrid where Jose Antonio was appointed the head of Marketing for 3M Europe.
Felicia became involved with the International Newcomers Club of Madrid, an organization of ex-patriates living in Spain that provides connection and community to people from all over the world, while stationed abroad. She hosted countless events which showcased the many skills she learned from her mother Psa Valeria like elegant appetizers and delicious Romanian pastries. In the spring she taught a class on Ukranian Easter Egg decoration that was eagerly anticipated each time. She could probably relate to the feeling of being far from family and warmly embraced these women trying to create a home in a foreign land. She was a confidant, a cheerleader, a tour guide, and a constant source of encouragement. In the words of her dear friends in the club “she was a true ambassador, a generous teacher and a dear friend who will be sorely missed.”
In their spare time Felicia and Jose Antonio pursued their fascination and hobby of collecting antiques. Over time this hobby organically grew into a business with the combined talents of Jose Antonio’s expansive historical knowledge and Felicia’s easy-going and warm personality. Through their incredible antiques they built a huge social network that spanned the world.
Felicia and Jose Antonio were loving caretakers of many fortunate dogs. Freddy, Tigre, Rocco, Blackie, Lobo, and Bull were each special to her in their unique way. They were her constant companions while working in the garden and she would indulge them in endless games of fetch. She took care of them through illness and nursed them back to life more than once. She loved each of them and took care of them as family members until their last breath. It is said you can tell a lot about a person by how they treat their pets and in Felicia’s case the message was clear -- you were pretty lucky to be counted among those she loved.
Felicia Morera de Guijarro passed away on March 14, 2021 after a battle with ovarian cancer. She is survived by her husband Jose Antonio, brother and sister-in-law Cornel and Sharon Ivascu, brother-in-law Juan Ignacio, nieces Felicia Ivascu O’Connor (Jeff O’Connor) and Natalia Ivascu (Len Girardi) and nephew John Ivascu (Tara Collins Ivascu).
