Iustina was born in Sarasau, Maramures region in Romania to Gheorghe and Ana Pricop. She was the youngest of 6 siblings. She had a heart for children and that led her into becoming a teacher. She was an elementary school teacher for 17 years in Romania. In May 1971 she married Ion (John) Dudas and a year later on May 7, 1972 they welcomed their 1st child Augustin and on September 8, 1974 Daniela was born. On January 31, 1985 John, Iustina, Augustin, Daniela, and the Pal family (Cornel, Ileana, Sunamita, and Abel) arrived in the United States of America.
The Dudas and Pal family were sponsored by Westside Baptist Church of Mableton, Ga. Two weeks after arriving in the U.S., they were visited by Pastor Martian Cocian, Lucretia Lazar, and Gabriel Nicoara and invited to be part of the newly formed Romanian Baptist Church of Atlanta. The Lazar and Nicoara family were instrumental in helping the Dudas and Pal families get accommodated to life in America. First Romanian Baptist of Atlanta and others, including Pete Popovici and Angela Popovici, were God-sent and a blessing to the Dudas and Pal families in maintaining Romanian ties in the US.
Iustina always thanked God for all the blessings during the 33 years spent in the US. Iustina had a passion for travel and God blessed her to enjoy many trips with John, Augustin, and Daniela. Iustina then took much joy in having Hanna, Becca, and Josh Tuple as the young children of her extended family. She especially made every effort to make it to the many school and sporting events for Hanna and Becca.
Iustina had the joy of having 3 grandsons being born in August 2016. Daniela and Remus had twins, Luc and Ethan, and Augustin and Diana had Daniel. The boys were a blessing that made Iustina always beam with joy at seeing them. Another grandson, David, was born on August 24, 2018 to Augustin and Diana.
On September 25, 2018, Iustina Dudas, at the age of 71 left to be with the Lord Jesus. God allowed Iustina to go through the painful trial of ovarian cancer for almost 2 years. She fought the good fight and always maintained the attitude that God can heal her, but if He doesn’t, then God knows why and it is part of His plan. Her last advice for John, Augustin, and Daniela was to never lose faith and always pray and trust God. She will be greatly missed by everyone who had the privilege of knowing her.