Obituary of Huberta Pereira

Huberta (Hubi) Pereira, 92, passed away peacefully at home on September 30th 2024 with her children at her side. Born on March 9, 1932, in Schloss Glanegg, Grödig, Austria, she was the eighth of nine children of Friedrich Mayr-Melnhof and Maria-Anna Meran. She was a beloved daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother, Nona and friend.

Hubi grew up near Salzburg, lived through WWII, and was educated at home and in Salzburg, later attending Sacré Coeur in Riedenburg where she often hid from the nuns in the nearby protestant cemetery to eat sweets and smoke cigarettes.  In college, she studied graphic design at the Akademie für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, where she enjoyed a vibrant social life dancing in her high heels through the night with friends at the Eden Bar. She later volunteered during the Hungarian revolution of 1956 where she helped fleeing refugees at the Austrian border.

While visiting her sister in Chile, she endured the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, which was the largest ever recorded. Rather than fly home from Chile, which she thought boring, she chose to sail back to Europe on the MS Giulio Cesare which she recalled as one of the most fun experiences of her life.

A few years later, while visiting another sister in the US she was reacquainted with Emanuel "Nanni" Pereira who she then married in 1963. Together they started their family in Vienna Virginia, finally settling in Basking Ridge, New Jersey in 1969.  After Nanni's unexpected death in 1976, with four young children, Hubi chose to stay in New Jersey in her beloved home to provide stability for her children.

An avid gardener and creative spirit, she remained fiercely independent throughout her life, often insisting, “I DO IT.” Her biggest love was her family and her faith. Hearing stories from her children and grandchildren, who she absolutely adored, was a daily blessing.

Hubi is survived by her children, Michelle (Mark) Busharis, Andre Pereira, Pierre (Shelly) Pereira, and Jacques (Kelli) Pereira, along with nine grandchildren, Nikolas (Mackenna) Busharis, George (Alexandra) Busharis, Sophia (Andrew) Briggs, Greta Pereira, Alexander Pereira, Ernest Pereira, Jacques Pereira, Caroline Pereira and Luke Pereira, and one great-grandson, Jack Busharis. She was looking forward to welcoming two more great-grandchildren next year. She is predeceased by her husband Emanuel, infant daughter Desiree, three sisters and a brother.  She will be missed very much.

Memorial Mass will be on Saturday, October 12, 2024, 1:00pm at St. James Church, 184 S. Finley Ave, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920