Maria Jurate Petz

Longtime Texas resident, Maria Petz, a nurse who loved to travel, died from her second bout with cancer on Wednesday, October 31, 2012. She was 68. She was the widow of retired DEA Special Agent David Petz. Maria was born in Germany in April 1945. She came to the United States in 1949 on the US military transport ship, “General Blatchford.” That was her first time on Ellis Island. Eventually with her parents she settled in Chicago via Chazy, New York and Connecticut. After graduating high school she traveled west to El Paso where she received her diploma at Hotel Dieu School of Nursing. There she fell under the spell of the West and never stayed away for long. She made friends easily and those friendships lasted her lifetime. While in El Paso, Maria met her first husband, Rich Baughman, who helped her grow her circle of friends. They had great moments together until Rich died from heart disease. Maria busied herself with running a business and nursing. She was an avid reader and a lover of animals. Her pets were an important part of her family. She eventually met David Petz, who was a Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration stationed with the El Paso Intelligence Center. Not long after they married David was transferred to the DEA Dallas Division and they settled in Carrollton, Texas. Maria continued nursing, teaching nursing and eventually found herself hospital bill auditing. She worked both on internal hospital bill auditing and external for companies such as Equifax, National Healthcare Review and as an independent consultant. She was qualified as an expert witness in Texas courts. In 1989 Maria joined the Texas Medical Auditors Association and grew into the positions afforded her. She was a Vice-President then President of the Metroplex Chapter TMAA. She was also on the Board of Directors for both TMAA and the American Association of Medical Audit Specialists. Maria truly believed in the value and benefit of these organizations and contributed to their success to the best of her abilities and available energy. In 2004 Maria was diagnosed with colon cancer and fought it with months of chemotherapy which caused her much pain and discomfort from the side effects. The treatment was somewhat successful and Maria had some respite for three years. In 2007 Maria underwent surgery for pancreatic tumors. In January of 2009 Maria was widowed again when David died in the hospital of coronary disease. Then, in 2010 the cancer found a new home in her lungs. By this time Maria was physically and emotionally exhausted. She still was able to put on a happy face. Everyone who knew her loved her dearly.

She is survived by her brother Joseph Petrauskas, his wife Yanira, her sister Barbara Ann Graupman with husband, Mark, aunt, uncle and cousins and her many friends who were like family each and every one. Family members suggest that in lieu of flowers contributions be made to the Drug Enforcement Administration Survivors Benefit Fund:

DEA Survivors Benefit Fund

2020 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Suite 659

Washington, D.C. 20006 https://www.deamemorial.org