Willa Dean Srsa (Higgins) of Mentor, Ohio entered the gates of heaven on March 9, 2023. She passed away suddenly at UH Cleveland Medical Center. To friends and family she was "Dean" and "Mom", to the grandkids she was "Gram", to the great grandkids she was "other mama"- she was the matriarch of our family. Dean was born 2/11/1934 to the late Henry Franklin Higgins and Carrie C. Beets in Giles County, Tennessee. She is preceded in death by husband and WWII veteran Steve Srsa, nine brothers and sisters, and fur baby Ben. She is survived by her loving family- son Donald Srsa; stepson Ronald Srsa (spouse Laura); daughter Kathy Yan (Srsa); grandson Peter Orr (spouse Christopher Orr); granddaughter Erica Yan; great grandsons Delvon Maddox (partner Anya Crawford) and Grayson Orr; great granddaughter Tiegan Orr; numerous loving nieces and nephews; and beloved fur babies Sam, Chrissy, Walter and Shiloh. Dean was an assembler and dedicated employee of Rockwell Automation. In retirement, she enjoyed spending time with her family, cooking, loving her fur babies, and her favorite pastime of playing slots at the local casinos.

You would never visit Dean's house and not leave with a full belly of awesome cooking or sweets. Her dishes and recipes will live as a legacy to our fun times in the kitchen, although there is serious doubt we can replicate the best macaroni salad known to mankind. Perhaps it was the flavor (or toxin) leaching out of the yellow 1946 Tupperware container that she demanded it be served in. Who can forget the time she mistook cranberries for cherries and served an interesting cherry square, or the time she sliced open her hand making a salad. Her focus on the salad was steadfast, we said, "Gram, you're bleeding", to her response of "nah, I'm alright" to ours of, "but there's blood in the salad!" A good laugh was had! Above all, she was a voice of acceptance to anyone and anything. Dean had a very special connection with her close friend Judge Judy Sheindlin. They would meet daily at 3PM and enjoy the banter of ridiculous legal cases. Gram was as humble as they get and never judged a soul.

Dean was an avid traveler. We will never forget the time she was rescued in Hawaii after needing to abandon ship of her sinking aqua bike or when she was the rally force of a group of inebriated travelers on a cruise ship tender. As an international traveler, and as recent as last week, she would travel around the world and offer advice to couples seeking to take their love to the next level. Many would consider her non-biased intuition to be a gift of divinity. Yes, she loved 90-Day Fiancé and always got it right!  As an activist, her commitment to marginalized groups created a culture of inclusion. She was particularly committed to the inclusion of those with limitations of vertical reach. Yeah… she also loved watching the Little Women franchise. Though the high-quality entertainment that Dean enjoyed spurred her philosophical wisdom, it was just a bridge to what she truly enjoyed, spending time with the family. In all seriousness, Dean was an angel- she loved and accepted everyone.

Dean appreciated her garden and its harvest. When she could no longer keep her own, she taught her grandkids how to grow the finest tomatoes.  She also taught her family the art of canning the tastiest tomatoes that became and will remain an annual mid-October family tradition. She knew how to work hard and instilled that in her family. She didn't know any physical limits, nor did she expect you to. As kids, we'd get a cut, scrape or have a limb hanging from a ligament, just for Dean to throw some magic salve or Merthiolate on it, but "it only stings for a second." This brings us to her strength; standing just over 5'2", she could carry her weight in firewood.  After gathering about 100lbs of wood from the woodpile, she had the ability to build a chimney fire that would make any insurance carrier nervous.  Dean filled the role of fun-loving, no-rules "Gram" to perfection. If she wasn't putting money in your pocket, putting sweets in your belly, or defending you for your silly antics, she was encouraging you to do whatever makes you happy.

Gram had an incredible smile and nothing made her family happier than seeing that smile. Each year on Dean's birthday and Christmas she is "surprised" with a tree of lottery scratch-offs. She would take her designated "Gram Seat" in the family room armed with a quarter and a cookie sheet. She would emerge hours later with black fingers and a stack of scratchers calculating her pull over an empty sangria glass. Dean had a sense of humor and a whit that was refined and sharp for her 89 years of youth.  She maintained a straight-faced stoic demeanor that would deliver some of the best one-liners. She could always find a way to make us laugh.

Although extremely saddened by her sudden loss, we know Dean had a life well lived that was filled with compassion and love. She will be missed immensely, but we will cherish the humor and whit that we enjoyed all these years and celebrate her ascension from the role of Matriarch, Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother to that of Guardian Angel.

Please join us for visitation and laying our Matriarch to rest at Crown Hill Funeral Home in Twinsburg, Ohio located at:
8592 Darrow Rd.
Twinsburg, OH 44087

The family will receive family and friends on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 from 11:00AM-1:00PM, service at 1:00PM, followed by a short drive to her mausoleum of eternal rest at 2:00PM.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting lottery scratch-off tickets in honor of Dean. We will have "Gram's Lottery Tree" at her visitation service- hang a lottery ticket or two on her tree. All proceeds will be donated to the Lake County Humane Society in her honor.