Liudmila Margolina Obituary (1933 - 2024)

Liudmila Margolina, a loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away on Saturday, June 29, 2024 (23 of Sivan, 5784). She was 91. Liudmila (Luda) Margolina was born on April 11, 1933, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, to Tevel and Liza Margolin (nee Kvashis). Luda, known to her family as Mina, spent her childhood with her mother's large family, as her mother Liza (known to her family as Liya) was one of seven children. Luda's childhood was abruptly interrupted by World War II and the Holocaust when the Nazis entered Kharkiv. At 8 years old, she was separated she tragically lost her father, grandfather, grandmother, and 22 other relatives in Drobytsky Yar. Luda and her mother Liza narrowly escaped the ghetto when, on New Year's Day, her mother traded her wedding ring for information from a Ukrainian policeman who told her, "Run, Liza!" Eventually, they joined a convoy of refugees and pretended to be Christians. They survived the war by working in the fields and begging in the evenings. For the final few years of the war, they were taken in by a kind Ukrainian family in the village of Sary. Luda lived in Ukraine and Moldova before settling in Moscow, where some of her relatives resided. There, she briefly married Karl Getzels, the father of her daughter Tatiana Vilenchuk (nee Margolin). Living in a 16 square meter room in a communal apartment, she raised Tatiana alone while working as a music teacher. Later in her life, she lived with family in Ashqelon and in Columbus. She found happiness in dancing, loved learning, and delighted in sharing stories with anyone she met. With a spoon in hand, she wouldfeed kasha to her grandchildren with stories of her Soviet childhood. Luda's warmth knew no bounds; she greeted everyone with a hug and engaged in conversation, regardless of whether they understood Russian. Luda had an insatiable appetite for learning and in her later years, she enjoyed keeping up with current events and studying maps. She lived with b'simcha (with joy) and spent her final moments surrounded by her family. She is preceded in death by her parents, Tevel and Elizabeth Margolin. Liudmila is survived by her daughter, Tatiana Vilenchuk, and husband Boris Vilenchuk; grandchildren, Michael and wife Yana Vilenchuk, Elizaveta (Liza) and husband Menachem Mendel Davis, Elina Vilenchuk, and Betty Vilenchuk; and great-grandchildren, Talia Ruth Vilenchuk, Ahuva Galya Liel Davis, and Ariella Mazal Davis. Graveside services will be held at 3:00 PM on Sunday, June 30, 2024, at New Agudas Achim Cemetery, 2565 Performance Way, Columbus.