Maria (Ciobanu) Ghencea

Maria Ghencea, age 76, of Asheville, NC passed away on Sunday, August 29, 2021 at Mission hospital in Asheville.

Maria was born on September 15, 1944 in Moldova to the late Vasilie Ciobanu and Elena Voda Ciobanu.

She was a member of First Moldovian Baptist Missionary Church in Asheville. Maria was a very humble lady who was always putting others ahead of herself. She was a fierce prayer warrior and worked hard to help out widows and orphans with anything they needed. Maria was a homemaker and she loved to grow a garden, and you would always see her smiling even if she was silently suffering.  She was a wonderful and loving wife, mother and grandmother.

In addition to her parents, Maria was preceded in death by her brother, Ilie Ciobanu.

Those left behind to cherish her memory are her beloved husband of 59 years, Ion Ghencea; two sons, Nicolae (Victoria) Ghencea and Ilie (Liuba) Ghencea, both of Atlanta, GA; three daughters, Lidia (Iosif) Cojocari of Asheville, , Oliga Tufar of Ukraine and Maria (Viorel) Stoica of Romania; four sisters, Ana (Dumitru) Capatina of Asheville, Elena (Alex) Pascal of Moldova; Vera (Ghorge) Lungu of Sacramento, CA, Lidia Bragaru of Tacoma, WA; three brothers, Andrei (Lidia) Ciobanu, Ion (Iulia) Ciobanu, and Petru Ciobanu, all of Moldova; 20 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

A Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, September 4, 2021 at 11:00 AM in the chapel of Penland Family Funeral Home conducted by Reverends Mihail Tigoala, Dumitru Capatina, and Sergiu Cojocari. Burial will follow the service at Green Hills Cemetery, 25 New Leicester Hwy., Asheville, NC 28806.

The family will receive friends on Friday, September 3, 2021 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM in the chapel of Penland Family Funeral Home.

Condolences may be left at: www.penlandfamilyfuneralhome.com.

Penland Family Funeral Home is honored to be assisting the Ghenea family with arrangements.

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