Sophie A. Barry

Sophie A. Barry , 99, of Aurora, passed away May 27, 2017.

She was born 1917 in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Martin and Mary Wojcik.

On August 23, 1947, she married Thomas F. Barry, Jr.

Sophie was a parishioner at Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Aurora.

One of her greatest achievements was raising her family. She also cherished the time that she spent with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She loved to travel and was a world traveler. Sophie enjoyed crossword puzzles and knitting afghans. She was an avid reader. Sophie had a strong work ethic and provided for her family, working nights so she could be with her children during the day. She lived a long and full life and her family deeply loved her. She will be dearly missed.

Sophie is survived by Daughter, Dianne L. (James) Spera; Two Sons, Patrick E. Barry and Thomas M. (Kathie) Barry; Four Grandchildren, Kevin P. Barry, Marc Barry, James (Jeni) Barry and Sandra (James McNown) Barry; Five Great-Grandchildren, Midori Barry, Jade Barry, Jackson Barry, Jace Barry and Josie Barry and many nieces, nephews and extended family.

She is preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Thomas F. Barry, Jr.; Father, Martin Wojcik; Mother, Mary Wojcik; Three Brothers, Alfie Wojcik, Eddie Wojcik and Hank Wojcik and Sister, Lynn Beyer.

To share a memory of Sophie or leave a special condolence message for her family, please visit the guestbook below.

Mother's Eulogy 5-27-2017
Thank you for coming here to commemorate my mother's life. Mom lived a long and fruitful life. Like Jesus, her most memorable characteristic was her self-sacrificing love.

Over the past 5 years, I saw mom frequently, and we often talked about how Jesus was the Son of God, who died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, that He was buried, and on the third day He rose again from the dead. Mom also enjoyed hearing about getting a new eternal body one day, and that there would be no more pain, suffering, or death.

The Word of God tells us how we can get to heaven, which we call being saved. The Bible says, "That whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13)." Because mom firmly believed in Jesus, I am
certain that she is eternally in heaven with God, and with her loved ones, who also believed. Because of that we can all rejoice. Some of you may think that you have led a good life, and I'm sure you have. But compared to the perfect standard of Jesus, we have all fallen short. And our performance doesn't get us into heaven. It's only by faith in Jesus and by His grace that we are saved. I know I have mom's heart on this, and it's our hope and prayer that you also call on the name of Jesus, and receive the gift of eternal salvation.

Whenever mom & I were together, she always enjoyed praying for our entire family. Family meant everything to her, and she always sacrificed of herself for us. She denied herself, took up her cross daily, and followed Jesus. She willingly did without things, in order to provide for her family. Mom didn't need things to make her happy, because her joy & happiness was in doing everything for her family.

Mom was blessed with good health, until after she broke her hip in 2012, and then went into assisted living. In January 2017 she went into Kindred Nursing Home, where she later died peacefully.

Here are some of my memories about mom. When I was 3 years old, after my father left the house on his way to work, the toaster accidentally broke, and our house caught on fire. Everyone was asleep, but somehow mom sensed the fire, and quickly got her 3 children out of the house. So mom rescued us from horrible deaths.

I've been a single father, and mom helped me to raise my young son Kevin. Every week when we got together, she cooked a great meal, and we played games, and did puzzles together.

Mom was a great role model and inspiration to us all. Everyone liked her, especially her caregivers, because she was kind, and on good terms with everyone.

When mom was a little girl, after Christmas, she would go to the garbage dump with her father, and look for the discarded Christmas cards. She loved looking at the wintry pictures, and reading the verses. When she was
older, she always looked intently at the cards she received. Whenever she read the verses, she felt as if the person who gave her the card had written them, & she would often cry.

Whenever I gave her a card, I always wrote that God chose her to be my mother, and that He couldn't have picked a better one for me. Thank you God for our mother. Like Jesus who gave His life for the world, mother gave her life for us. And now, we all look forward to seeing her in heaven someday. Praise the Lord.