Muguette Kathern Lucy Biver

Early Life in Phoebus, Virginia

In the waning days of summer 1922, Muguette Kathern Lucy Biver entered the world in Elizabeth City, Virginia. She was the daughter of French immigrants Clemens Biver and Mary Augusta Piquet. Clemens had emigrated from Lorraine in 1911 and worked as a parcel post carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. Mary followed from Brest, France, in 1921. French remained the primary language spoken at home—a legacy of their roots.

By 1930, the family lived at 53 Kelly Avenue in the Phoebus neighborhood of Hampton. Muguette, age 7, lived with her parents and older sister Lucette. A decade later, the family remained at the same address, now including a third daughter, Yolande, and a home valued at $5,000—evidence of their hard-earned stability during the Depression era.

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A Wartime Romance

In 1940, just after her eighteenth birthday, Muguette married Joseph Stanley Rovansek, a soldier stationed at Fort Monroe. Their wedding, held on May 11 at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Catholic Church, was intimate and full of charm.

She wore a tailored navy blue suit with white accessories and carried a bouquet of white roses and lilies of the valley. Her sister Lucette served as maid of honor, and Joseph’s brother Stanley stood as best man.

Following the ceremony, the couple lived with Muguette’s parents while Joseph continued his military service.

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Becoming a Mother, Becoming a Traveler

On June 16, 1945, Muguette and Joseph welcomed their daughter, Mary Katherine Rovansek, while stationed in Texas. As a military wife, Muguette’s life was one of movement and adaptation.

In August 1948, she and her children returned to the U.S. from Yokohama, Japan, aboard the USAT Edmund B. Alexander.

By 1950, the family lived on the Fort Ord Military Reservation in Monterey, California. Muguette, then 27, managed a household of five, including three young children and a fourth to come.

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Life Across States and Seas

The years that followed were full of new addresses and fresh starts. In 1955, the family lived at 2209 N. Meade in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1959, they boarded the ship President Wilson and sailed into Honolulu, Hawaii, after departing from Vancouver.

During the 1970s, Muguette and Joseph lived at 1860 Ala Moana Blvd, Apt 1008, a high-rise apartment in Honolulu with a sea view. Joseph worked with the United States Army Reserves, and Muguette continued the balancing act of home, community, and raising a family across continents.

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Final Years in Arizona

In 1991, after more than five decades of marriage, Joseph passed away at age 78. He was buried with full military honors at Georgia Memorial Park Cemetery in Marietta, Georgia. Muguette later relocated to Sun Lakes, Arizona, where she lived comfortably at 26624 S. Fair Oaks Ct. from at least 1993 through 1999.

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A Life Well Lived

Muguette passed away on December 15, 2012, at 90. Her obituary described her as an “avid golfer, world traveler, and loyal military wife.” She was survived by her daughters, Mary Katherine Rovansek Ortiz and Margaret Suzanne Mallory, and her son, Joseph S. Rovansek Jr., as well as nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Her sister Lucette also survived her.

She was preceded in death by her husband Joseph, her son Raymond Joseph Rovansek, and her younger sister Yolande Annie Biver Miller.

Muguette is now laid to rest alongside her husband in Georgia Memorial Park, a fitting place for a woman whose life spanned oceans, wars, and generations of change.

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Leave a Memory

If you knew Muguette or have memories, photos, or family stories to share, we’d love to hear from you. Please visit her Introduction Page to join the conversation and help us keep her memory alive.

Until next time,

~Kris