Lyudmila Khamina (1932-2022)

Some smiles are impossible to forget. Mom's smile, an unforgettable smile from the depth of her heart, radiated with love, joy, and compassion. Her smile shone like the sun that touches every creature with warmth and grace. Her smile will continue to shine upon all who knew her.

Lyudmila's radiant smile was not born out of an easy or carefree life, but out of a profound experience of overcoming unimaginable difficulties. Born in a small village in Central Russia in 1932, she started hard physical work at a local textile factory at age 13. Her childhood coincided with the death and destruction of WWII and she was well acquainted with famine and hard work. In fact, hard work was so deeply ingrained into her that when dementia mercilessly erased most of the words from her memory, she remembered just two words to the very end, gratitude ( spasibo ) and work ( rabota ), in addition to the names of her children and granddaughter.

After Lyudmila moved to the city of Yaroslavl, and married Sergey, she worked as an electrical engineer her whole life. She raised two kids and worked tirelessly at the factory, home and at the dacha/ farm house, which provided much needed fruit and vegetables. There, she talked to every plant and they seemed to respond, she had the ultimate green thumb. Lyudmila tirelessly helped her kids at school, and tried to help anyone, at work or at home, who needed help, with a kind word and her warming love-radiating smile. She took care of her late husband through his last years during. During her life in the Soviet Union, where religion was suppressed till mid-1990s, she managed to preserve her faith and secretly celebrated church feasts.

Even after retirement, her work was not finished. Lyudmila moved to the US in 2001 to help with raising her granddaughter and then moved to the East Coast in 2013. She had been a parishioner at St. John's Episcopal Church at Hasbrouck Heights. Although she did not learn much English, she was able to communicate God's love with hugs, kisses and grace-filled smile better than many preachers with words.

Mom's amazing smile was like a rainbow, because it was born from difficult life and hardships, just like a rainbow born from dark clouds and thunder. Like sunshine, she shared her smile with all, with plans, pets, babies, and adults, familiar and unfamiliar alike. At the time of her final health decline, she did her best to cope. After several hospitalizations and fast decline, she peacefully passed away at home, a few weeks after celebrating her 90 ^th birthday, surrounded with love, care, and her loved ones.

Lyudmila is survived by two loving children, granddaughter, and numerous friends who will remember her smile forever. Her love and her smile will continue to brighten our hearts and lead us through any challenges.

May her soul and souls of all the departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.