Grazina (Cenkus) Busciglio, 87, of Bearsville
Grazina (Cenkus) Busciglio. “Our Beloved Baba” affectionately known to the Woodstock community and her family as “Baba” (a Lithuanian term for grandma), passed away peacefully at her home in Bearsville on Friday, March 24, 2017. She was 87 years old.
Baba was born in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Jan. 25, 1930. Living in the shadow of Vilnius’ famous castle as a young girl, Baba dreamed of being a princess and ballerina. Favorite childhood activities included taking ballet lessons, attending operas, and spending a lot of time in her family’s kitchen watching the adults cook many traditional Lithuanian meals.
When World War II broke out in Europe, Baba and her family had to flee their homeland and spent much of the war moving from country to country. When the war ended, Baba’s family was sent to a Displaced Persons camp in Germany for 5 years before finally securing their visas to the U.S.
As a result of constantly moving throughout Europe during the war, Baba learned to speak five different languages and took a job at the United Nations, where she eventually worked as an interpreter. It was at the UN that Baba met a fellow worker and her future husband, Frank Busciglio.
Grazina and Frank started a family and lived in Brooklyn for more than a decade, before moving to Bearsville in 1965. In addition to being a homemaker, Baba also worked as a waitress and was later employed by Rotron, where she retired after 15 years. For the past two decades, many people in the Woodstock area knew Baba as the kind shopkeeper & delivery person for her son Lenny’s Smoked Fish & Honey and Woodstock Winery businesses in Bearsville.
Baba was a sought-after cook for many family occasions, including preparing Lithuanian cuisine for her famous nephew, Vitas Gerulaitas, a worldranked tennis player. When Vitas was hosting his sport celebrity friends, he would ask his aunt Grazina to prepare traditional Lithuanian meals while she hobnobbed with the likes of Cheryl Tiegs, Howard Cosell, Billy Jean King, Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert, and John McEnroe.
After retirement, Baba made monthly visits to her daughter’s family in N.J. She especially enjoyed cooking for her favorite son-in-law, crabbing in N.J.’s ocean bays, cheering-on her two grandsons at their school recitals & sporting events, and going to Atlantic City to try her luck with the slots. During her last visit to N.J., Baba held her infant great-granddaughter for the first time.
Grazina is survived by her husband of 65 years, Frank, as well as sons Leonardo and Richard and daughter Anna-Maria with spouse Stan Tentnowski Jr. She is also survived by her grandson Matthew Tentnowski, his wife Amber and Baba’s great-granddaughter Abigail, and another (not-yetfamous, baseball-playing) grandson, Stanton Tentnowski.
A viewing will be held at Lasher Funeral Home in Woodstock on Tuesday, March 28, from 4 to 7:30 p.m. A second, short viewing and burial service will occur the following morning starting at 10 a.m. The family requests mourners consider a donation to Hudson Valley Hospice in lieu of flowers, as these skilled caregivers were instrumental in making Grazina’s last days comfortable & peaceful for which her family is eternally grateful.
My mom was the most generous and loving person. She fed all of my friends and loved to share. In a birthday card, my mom thanked me for everything that I do for her. For all that my parents gave us, my sister and I were so grateful to be able to give back to them when they needed it the most. Mom’s love and kindness will live through Anna-Maria and me.
“To my sister and I, she was not only our mom, but our friend and our buddy. We are happy that we could share my mom with everyone.” LennyB