Visitation Wednesday 2-8 pm with 7 pm prayers and Thursday 2-8 pm with 7 pm prayers at the John N. Santeiu & Son Funeral Home, 1139 N. Inkster Rd., Garden City (Between Ford Rd. & Cherry Hill).  In state Friday 9:15 am followed by the 10am Funeral Service at St. George Romanian Orthodox Church, 18405 W. Nine Mile Rd., Southfield.

Family suggests memorials to St. George Romanian Orthodox Church.

Mariana Dit, 53, died Monday, April 24, 2017 at her home in Livonia, Michigan, surrounded by family.

She is survived by her husband Vasile, her mother Cristina Buzugan (80), her two children Iuliana Bobanga (with her husband Ovidiu Bobanga), and Andrei Dit (with wife Brianne Dit), grandchildren Sebastian Bobanga (5), Veronica Bobanga (4), Corina Dit (2) and Gabriella Dit (9 months) and her brother Ioan Buzdugan (with wife Marioara Buzdugan). She was preceded in death by her father Manoila, her brother Emanuel, her aunt Jenica and her uncles Florean, Vasile and Ion.

She will also be missed by her sister-in-laws, Liliana Dit and Ana Coman and by her nieces and nephews, Ioana Todea, Anda Ardai, Dan Buzdugan, Alexandru Sarbu and Alexandru Buzudgan. She is also mourned by her extended family, including aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews in Romania, Spain and Italy. She is grieved by hundreds of friends in the Romanian Community in Michigan that have become her adopted extended family here, by her former coworkers at Chrysler and by many other friends all over the world whose lives she has touched.

Mariana was born on March 29,1964, in Sancel, Alba county, Romania, as the daughter of Manoila and Cristina Buzdugan. Her passion as a young girl was reading, and she often got lost in a good book, which got her in trouble because she was behind on her chores. At school, she participated in the running club and was an excellent student, among the top of her class. She studied engineering at "Colegiul National 'David Prodan'" (high school) in Cugir, Romania. At the age of 17, and still in school, she met her future husband, Vasile. Less than a year later, deeply in love, they married. When she was 19, she gave birth to their daughter, Iuliana. Their parents helped care for Iuliana so both Mariana and Vasile were able to attend the "Technical University of Cluj-Napoca," and Mariana graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering at the age of 24.

While she was attending university, she began work at the "SC Uzina Mechanica," the large factory in Cugir, where she worked as a drilling and grinding mechanist from 1982-1990 and as a design engineer from 1990 to 1997. At the age of 24, she gave birth to her son, Andrei. She lived in Vinerea, a village next to the city of Cugir, in the heart of Transylvania, from 1984-1997. Here, she kept a garden with most staple vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, radishes, carrots, parsley, potatoes, etc) and kept a few chickens for fresh eggs and usually a pig that would be sacked at Christmas time, as was the tradition. Mariana and Vasile also had their own vineyard lot up on the hills of Vinerea, which they managed yearly and made their own wine every fall. In the summer, she enjoyed picnics with her family along the riverside or in the forest, to relax, swim, barbecue, play cards, pick mushrooms or simply spend time with friends. In the winter, she enjoyed skiing and working with her hands. She knitted dozens of clothes for her children, sewed beautiful tapestries that were true pieces of art and also crocheted lovely needle point lace (mileuri).

In 1996, Mariana and Vasile applied for the US Green Card Diversity Visa lottery, and to their surprise, Vasile's application won. After passing all the required tests, Mariana, Vasile and their children, immigrated to the US on March 7 ^th , 1997 and settled in Detroit, Michigan. They picked Detroit because of the support of the Romanian community present there and the promise of good employment opportunities in the automotive industry. The first few years were difficult due to the language barrier and the transition to a new culture. For two years, Mariana worked as a security guard at the Detroit Metro Airport. During this time, she attended university classes in the evenings for English as a Second Language and for automotive design. When she obtained all the necessary certificates, she took a job at AMI Engineering in Pontiac, Michigan, as a Unigraphics Designer in 1999. She transferred to RMK Industries in Rochester Hills in 2002. Due to the recession, she was laid off in 2008. She was hired by Chrysler as a Senior Designer in 2010.

In addition to her personal ambitions to learn a new language, adapt to a new country and succeed in her field, Mariana was also determined to guide and help her children to be successful and achieve their goals. Her daughter, Iuliana, obtained a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology from the University of Michigan, and later finished medical school at Wayne State University School of Medicine in 2010. She will be a practicing general and endocrine surgeon, finishing her general surgery residency at the University Hospitals of Cleveland in June 2017. Her son, Andrei, obtained a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Michigan in 2012. He is currently a Senior Accountant for USIT.  Mariana was a proud mother, which she truly deserved to be. She became a grandmother in 2012, and nothing in the world brought her more happiness than being with her grandchildren.

Her daughter Iuliana married Ovidiu in 2011 and her son Andrei married Brianne in 2013. She became a grandmother to Sebastian in 2012. She later had three more granddaughters: Veronica, Corina and Gabriella.

Mariana was a lovely person, inside and out. She showed kindness to everyone she met. She was always very thoughtful, and foresaw things most people would not think about or consider way ahead of time. She was always an excellent planner, whether it was family vacations, gatherings with friends, parties or even weddings. She remembered the details other would overlook or forget. She possessed a high level of emotional intelligence that helped her create lasting bonds with so many people. Her generosity was hard to match; she was known for giving wonderful gifts and feeding and treating anyone who walked through her door like they were royalty. She was always full of life and adventurous, never shying away from trying new things. She was the first to ride the biggest rollercoaster or try new sports like rollerblading. She was an excellent dancer, particularly the waltz  - her and Vasile were flawless.  She was fast at everything she did - zoom, zoom. She would get everything done in a flash, even driving, which got her a few speeding tickets. She cleaned and cooked fast so she could have time for the fun stuff. She was also a big lover of sports and of travel. She loved to watch tennis and soccer on TV, and she loved to go on vacation with her family. Of all the places she visited, her favorite place in the world was Hawaii.

In the last three years of her life, she was afflicted with a terrible and rare disease that affected her right lung and pleura and caused her horrible pain. Unfortunately, this rare cancer has no cure. Despite that, she was determined to fight and win; she tried every imaginable traditional, alternative and complimentary medical treatment she could find. She traveled to specialists all over and fought a long tough battle. She lived her life to the fullest, no matter how hard it was at times. She will be forever missed, eternally loved and a never forgotten wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, sister, sister-in law, aunt and friend. May God rest her soul in Heaven.