Mother of resident, devoted grandmother, dedicated gardener
Jana Minar. (Courtesy photo)
Jana Minar died peacefully Aug. 31, 2024, at her home, with her family and friends, after a courageous battle with cancer.
Jana spent over 25 years working at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, watching several generations of cadets grow from eager young men and women to leaders and flag officers. She enjoyed working with students and being with young people. Before emigrating to America, she had worked at Charles University and the Czech Technical University in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
She loved the outdoors and enjoyed her daily walks on the beaches of New London and at Harkness State Park. She was a dedicated gardener, tending to her flower and vegetable beds even after her health had deteriorated and she couldn’t walk without assistance. She enjoyed traveling throughout the U.S. and abroad, eager for new experiences that expanded her understanding and appreciation of different cultures and regions.
Jana was a devoted grandmother to Hayley, Marketa, and Amalie and enjoyed spending time with them, fostering their interests in music and sports, relating stories about her childhood, and passing on her recipes for Czech specialties like blueberry dumplings and chicken paprikash. Jana was a keen supporter of her grandchildren’s artistic endeavors and enjoyed attending Marketa and Amalie’s recitals and band concerts. She was an enthusiastic booster of their sporting activities and a dauntless spectator, often spending her weekends standing in the pouring rain and mud watching Hayley compete in horse trials and rowing regattas.
Jana was the eldest of two children born in 1938 to Stepan and Rose Kobza in Czechoslovakia just prior to World War II. She survived seven years of war followed by the subsequent occupation of her homeland by the Soviet Union. She escaped from Czechoslovakia in 1965, getting engaged to her future husband, Rudy, after a short courtship while visiting family in Bavaria, West Germany. Together they emigrated to the U.S. to marry and initially settled in New York City, where she was active in the Czech expatriate community and various organizations including, among others, Sokol NY, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, and the Bohemian National Halls of Manhattan and Astoria.
Jana was predeceased by her loving husband of many years, Rudy, and her brother, Stepan. She was a devoted mother to and is survived by her sons, Rudy and wife Kara of Harvard, and Mark and wife Lenka of Stonington, Connecticut; and granddaughters Hayley of Brookline; and Marketa and Amalie of Stonington, Connecticut. She is also survived by her nephew, Michal and his partner Johana Kobza of Prague, Czech Republic, and niece Monika of Prague, and many grandnieces and grandnephews.
A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 30, at St. Mary’s Church in Stonington, Connecticut, followed by a celebration of her life at the Portuguese Holy Ghost Society. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Friends of Harkness, PO Box 10, Waterford, CT 06385.
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