Sophia (Chaushoff) Dimanin

Lifelong Dearborn resident Sophia (Chaushoff) Dimanin left this world on April 18, 2020 surrounded by her family in her Dearborn home after 93 wonderful years.  Sophia was married to Dr. John Dimanin for 64 years before his death on February 18, 2017.

Sophia was the youngest of four born to Macedonian immigrant parents Trico and Tsana Chaushoff on November 5, 1926.  As a child she taught herself to drive and park cars in her dad's parking lot and earned her license at age 14 – something she was very proud of.

As the first in her family to go to college, Sophia completed her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1948 and was one of only a handful of women who earned their Master Degrees in Childhood Development from the U of M in 1950.  She began a PhD in Education at U of M but fell one course short of completing her degree.

Sophia was a public school teacher for 52 years, with over 50 years teaching in the Dearborn Public School System.  She taught at multiple schools in Dearborn, with the most years spent at Salina, Woodworth and Henry Ford Elementary.  She also taught Adult Night school classes to immigrants at Salina school for many years, and gained long lasting friendships from that public service.

All told, Sophia taught over 5000 students at all grade levels during her teaching career.

She was a green thumb gardener and could grow anything in her backyard – often joking about her love of digging in the dirt.  She was fluent in Macedonian & English, loved to travel the world, raced her sailboat in multiple Port Huron to Mackinac races and had driven her Honda motorcycle for years.  Sophia was always game for an adventure, whether white water rafting, downhill skiing or scuba diving.  She enjoyed watching football and hockey.  Best of all, she was always a warm, kind person who taught her children to be good human beings.

Even though she loved teaching, her true love was saved for her family.  She was the "heart and soul" of the household, a devoted wife and an incredible "one in a million" mother who loved to laugh and was very proud of all her kids.  Sophia is survived by her son Richard Dimanin (Lisa Giesecke), daughter Sandra Dimanin Itsell (John), grandchildren Tsana Dimanin, Patrick Dimanin, Jillian Coury (Mark), Anna Werling (Marshall), and Valerie Itsell, as well as three grand dogs Kona, Ollie and Peggy; numerous relatives and close friends, especially her best friend, Diana Herman.  She was predeceased by granddaughter Vivianne Itsell, sister Eva Cain, and brothers John and Alexander Chaushoff.

Donations can be made in Sophia's honor to St. Clement Orthodox Church of Dearborn, St. Barbara Catholic Church of Dearborn or the Huron Valley Humane Society in Ann Arbor.

Her death is a wound to our hearts that will only heal with time and prayer.  Her family and friends are truly blessed to have had Sophia in their lives.

A celebration of Sophia's beautiful life will take place in the summer or when conditions first permit.