Our wonderful mom and grandmother passed away at home early Monday morning, surrounded by her family who loved her deeply. She fought a valiant six-month battle with pancreatic cancer with grace, optimism, and unwavering faith in God.

Our mom was a woman of many talents and interests. She had a gift for languages and spoke four well. She was a master seamstress, a meticulous gardener, a voracious reader, and an avid historian. She kept up with current events around the world by reading two daily newspapers and The Economist. She loved Russian literature and poetry, Biblical history, and everything about Israel. We often wonder what she might have done in life had she had the opportunity to pursue her education beyond sixth grade.

Our mom was gentle, humble, extremely generous with her time and money, and hard-working. She cared deeply about those less fortunate, especially orphaned children. She had a soft spot in her heart for animals and regularly rescued creatures of all kinds.

But the greatest legacy our mom leaves behind is love -- her love for Jesus and for her children and grandchildren to whom she was completely devoted. She inspired us and gave us courage to be our best selves. It is hard to imagine life without her.

Our mom was predeceased by her husband, our father, Nikolay. She leaves behind her sister, Eugenie Dolmat, and her children, George (Mary), Irene (Dan) and Anthony (Laura), and their children, her two daughters, Tania Peterkin and Natalie Watson (Randy), her grandchildren, Andrea (Mark), Matthew (Yumi), Leah, and Lara, and her great-grandson, Jacob.

If you would like to send a gift in our mom’s memory, instead of flowers, she would have appreciated a donation to one of the organizations she generously supported that cares for orphans in Belarus and Zimbabwe. See the Make a Donation link below. Choose "Orphans-Belarus" fund for Impact Ministry Group.