Age — 38, from Kerch, Ukraine.

Our mother was born Natalya Aleksandrovna Naumenko on November 9^th, 1963.  She was from the city of Kerch, in the Crimea.  From 1^st to 11^th grade she attended School #19 there, with a special emphasis on English.  After finishing school she went to study in Kharkov.  She entered the machine-tool technical college in 1981, and graduated in 1984.  Her specialty was called ‘CPU workbench operator'.

Back in grade school she met our father, Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yuftyaev.  They were friends for a long time, and then, during one of her holidays back home, they got married.

On December 31^st, 1984, I was born.  On October 7^th, 1985, my brother Zhenka was born.  Now that they had their family, one can say that they loved each other very much.  Papa called her ‘Natulchik' and ‘Simona Koshka'.  By the way, October 28^th, 2002, would have been their 18^th wedding anniversary.  Only two more days and they would have celebrated the ‘coming of age' of their life together.  Like everyone else back then, at first they lived in a hostel, then later they got their own apartment.  I was 8 years old by then, and mom was working as an accountant at the ‘Mitridat' youth center.

Then there occurred what I still consider a remarkable encounter (or acquaintance) with the center's director, Yuri Ivanovich Chernomorchenko.  Thanks to this acquaintanceship, Mom found herself in Barzovka, a place that is unknown to most people.  Barzovka is a place south of Kerch where there was, and still is today, a large camping area for tents.  We were lucky, because we lived nearby and could spend all summer there.  Many talented people would come: ‘bards' (singer/songwriters), or just people who could sing and play the guitar.  No one in our family had such a talent, so I am still grateful to Yuri Ivanovich for giving our family the chance to be there.  It was there that Mom found most of her friends.

Our mom was a remarkable person, and a real woman.  She was a very devoted friend, a good listener who treated another's sorrow and grief as her own.  Mom was an interesting collocutor.  Her brother remembers that it was always worth listening to her.  Everyone else would just sit around speechless when she talked.  And she was a true beauty on the outside as well; she always had many worshippers.

She was a tremendous wife and a loving mother.  She never grumbled, never hit, and never swore at her children (even though, in my view, there were times when we deserved it).  She was a careful homemaker, very wise, and had a refined nature.  She tried never to judge anyone, but looked instead for her own mistakes.  I do not know any other woman who had as many friends as Mom.

She had an outstanding relationship with her mother-in-law (my grandmother), and called Grandma ‘Mom' and loved her very much.  Our grandmother was very ill.  I remember when she died, the lady doctor from the ambulance said there was still a chance if they did an injection into Grandma's heart.  She might live, but, of course, she still would not be able to walk or speak.  She would more or less be a ‘vegetable'.  The doctor asked Mom: «Is it worth it?» And Mom answered: «Try everything, I want to look in Mom's eyes one more time.»  But it did not work.  Grandma died, and Mom lost, I believe, someone very near and dear to her.

Mom loved to read.  She read a lot with enthusiasm, and was rather erudite.  Mom was never embarrassed to ask something if she did not know it, and she would then teach it to us.  She loved crossword puzzles very much.  This was her hobby.  She could work at them for hours there on the living room floor, surrounded by atlases and encyclopedias.  We were very close.  I can honestly say that she was my closest friend, and I kept no secrets from her.

In 2002 Mom went to work in Moscow, and in a year she sent for all of us.  Through a friend whom she met at Barzovka, Elena Sysueva, Mom got a job working on ‘Nord-Ost'.  Mom worked there selling souvenirs and printed materials.   Her store was on the first floor.  On the second floor was Elena's little shop.  Mom and her were very good friends, and on that ill-fated day they were captured on the second floor.  They sat together, hand in hand, for three days.  Aunt Lena, thank God, survived, but she was hospitalized for a long time.

A very large number of friends came to the funeral.  There were so many, that during the service there were too many to fit in the cathedral.  It was raining, but people waited their turn outside in order to bid Mom farewell.

Written by her daughter, Yekaterina Yuftyaeva.

Comments (4)

Write Comment
Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article. Personal verbal attacks will be deleted. Please don't use comments to plug your web site. Such material will be removed. Just ensure to *Refresh* your browser for a new security code to be displayed prior to clicking on the 'Send' button. Keep in mind that the above process only applies if you simply entered the wrong security code.
Name:
E-mail
Homepage
Title:
Comment:
Code:*
	I wish to be contacted by email regarding additional comments

Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.6
AkoComment © Copyright 2004 by Arthur Konze — www.mamboportal.com
All right reserved