Maria Hassane
01/20/2022
“Loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and sister”
Maria (Cacaj) Hassane, 91, of Oxford, Connecticut passed away on Thursday, January 20, 2022, at Griffin Hospital in Derby. She was the loving wife of Zef Hassane of over seventy-five years.
Maria was born in Flete, Albania, on August 15, 1930, daughter to the late Jak and Lule (Casa) Cacaj. In 1951, Maria and husband Zef, escaped political persecution as teenagers from the then communist regime of Albania, leaving their family and vast properties behind. Having faced many hardships such as the murder of her son and father-in-law, as well as land confiscations they were deemed a ‘Kulak’ by the government. Maria and her husband escaped through mountainous terrain to the former Yugolslavia with nothing more than the clothes on their back. Maria survived living through many hardships in a refugee camp for three years and finally crossed the Italian Alps by foot with her new born daughter in 1954. After 4 years in Italy, she and her husband were allowed to immigrate to America in 1958. The two being the first immigrants to be allowed in two years to the United States during that time. She became a selfemployed woman, and managed various rental properties and businesses over the years. She was proud to have been the first contributor to the formation of Our Lady of Shkodra Church.
Her beloved husband Zef, Maria leaves behind to cherish her memory her daughter, Angela Hassane of Oxford, two grandchildren, Duane Hassane, Nikole Hassane-Verlezza and her husband Andrew of Oxford, and two great-grandsons, Ethan Hassane and Nicholas Hassane-Alterio. She was predeceased by her three sons, Prenge Hassane, Sandri Hassane, Pashke Hassane and her brother, Dede Cacaj Alia.
Arrangements: A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, January 27 2022, 10:00 a.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Oxford. Everyone is kindly asked to meet directly at the church. Burial will follow at Mount Meadows Cemetery in Seymour. Calling hours will be held on Wednesday evening from 5:00– 8:00 p.m. at Brookside Memorial, the Albini Family Funeral Home & Crematory, 200 Benson Road, Middlebury.