01/03/2024
Tigat Murzinski Obituary
Tigat Odette Murzinski Born on 07/24/1932 in Brézolles, Eure et Loir, France - Died on 12/10/2023 in Abington, PA USA
Tigat (pronounced Tee-ga) was born Odette Marie-Louise Marie in Brezolles, France, as the last of 7 children and was just a young girl when WWII started. She witnessed first-hand the horrors of the occupation of her country ... her family fought with the resistance and they experienced more than one narrow escape from enemy soldiers. She attended elementary and boarding school in France and nursing school in England before she took her first job at the Dreux Air Force Base PX (Post Exchange) where she began her lifelong career in Retail & Sales and met her husband, Victor (VJ/Sonny). Her father gave her the nickname of Tigat (which was slang for 'little boy') and she adopted it as her legal name soon after emigrating to the USA. Besides also being called Mommy, she was known as 'Frenchy' by many friends, 'Nona' to her grandchildren, and 'MaNona' to her great-grandchildren. She bravely left behind her beloved family, in France, in the late 1950s when she first came to the USA to live in Texas where her husband VJ was stationed. The family was transferred overseas to Germany for a few years and then moved back permanently to the USA in 1963, aboard the famous SS United States ocean liner, where we were stationed in Wisconsin and Colorado. After her divorce, she took a job transfer to Texas & single handedly moved herself and her 4 children. After another job transfer 18 months later in 1970, she moved her family again cross-country by herself and eventually ended up in Pennsylvania (Horsham and Willow Grove), for the rest of her life. She never remarried and her & VJ remained loving friends until he passed away in 1984. However she had many admirers throughout the years and definitely broke a heart or two.
Besides being deeply loved by her immediate and extended family, she had a huge network of friends, colleagues, co-workers, & clients who all adored her. She was brave, tough, truthful, fiercely independent, energetic, flamboyant, self-assured, confident, daring, socially dynamic, charismatic, gregarious, trustworthy, spiritual, witty & always in vogue. She was very proud of being a naturalized U.S. citizen who knew more about the history, laws, and Constitution of the United States than most people learn in school. She was a devout supporter of individual & animal rights, civil liberties, democracy, free speech and free enterprise. She had at least one prejudice - she was extremely intolerant of bigotry and racism. We would be remiss if we did not mention that she more than earned an honorable place in the National Sarcasm Society. She was an exceptionally strong and extraordinary woman who raised her 4 children on her own, as a single mom, and fought hard against adversities and any obstacles she faced. Always in fashion and fanatical about her appearance, her beauty was only surpassed by her intelligence & charm.
She enjoyed many activities like oil painting, reading, cooking, ceramics, traveling, drinking wine & margaritas, dancing, singing, laughing, listening to all kinds of music (especially her favorites Michael Jackson & the Rolling Stones) but was most passionate about dogs, family time, eating fine cuisine at her favorite restaurants, and watching all the 'creatures' in the urban wildlife habitat & creek adjacent to her backyard (Groundhogs, bunnies, feral cats, squirrels, birds, turtles, ducks, raccoons, opossums, deer, fox, chipmunks, and the occasional snake).
Tigat was preceded in death by her parents, Albert & Marguerite Marie; her sisters - Paulette Marie, Monik Marie, & Suzon d'Argoeuves; her brothers - Albert (Coco) Marie & Maurice Marie; her ex-husband - SMSgt Victor Murzinski; and most tragically, by her youngest daughter - Monique McCaffrey; as well as many other adored family members and friends.
She was also predeceased by several beloved pets: Eve, Trixie, & Wrinkles (Boxers), Brutus (Great Dane), Sonja, Angus, Doré, & Genesee (Mixed Breeds), Roxanne & Gatsby (Rottweilers), Caesar (Turtle), and Bob (Iguana) plus numerous other reptiles, fish, & critters her children brought home.
Tigat is survived and enormously missed by her sister, Janine Castro (Paris, France); her sister-in-law, Carol Daniels (Bonney Lake WA); her three children - Carolyn Margueritte (Abington PA); Greg & Linda (Fair) Murzinski (Hatboro PA); and Natalie & Kenny Eddins (Mobile AL); her six grandchildren - Leo Delaney III (Abington PA); Eric & Kimberly (Telford) Delaney (Meadowbrook, PA); Céilí Delaney (Philadelphia PA); Matthew Murzinski (Philadelphia PA); Emileigh McCaffrey (Phoenix AZ); Jason Murzinski (Hatboro, PA); her three great-grandchildren - Riley, Nolan, & Owen Delaney (Meadowbrook, PA); her numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and all their children, in France, the USA (NJ, CT, PA, FL, TX, & WA), and around the world; her extended family and friends; and her furbaby, Zelda (Pitbull) plus 6 grand furbabies and 6 great-grand furbabies.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Tigat's name to your favorite local animal rescue or shelter or other charity near and dear to your heart.
A memorial service, to celebrate Tigat's life, will be held at a date to be determined, for family & friends.
