Obituary of Galina A. Ponomareva

Galina Alexandrovna Ponomareva (Matviychuk), 74, of Granby, Massachusetts, yielded up her spirit with her husband by her side on August 13, 2020, after a long battle with cancer.

Galina was born in Lutsk, Ukraine, in 1945, and graduated from the University of Lviv, Ukraine, in 1969. She married her soul mate in 1970, and over the next 50 years together they brought up their seven children and faced life’s joys and challenges. 

Galina was an extraordinarily brave woman with a free spirit, who was a lifelong learner and educator. She received a Master’s Degree in Ukrainian and Russian Linguistics from the University of Lviv in Ukraine and was an active member of the Scientific Student Society, having attended national conferences throughout her undergraduate career. After completing her degree, her life took her from teaching at a secondary school in the Carpathian Mountains, Ukraine, to the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography in Moscow, Russia, where she had the pleasure to meet and work with many notable cultural and academic figures of that time. After immigrating to the US with her husband and children in 1998, Galina worked for 12 years in the Amherst and Westfield public school systems. Throughout her life, Galina endeavored to pass on her love for all things artistic and academic to her children and students.

Galina admired all things of beauty: music, art, poetry, nature. As a passionate musician, she held the concertmaster seat with the Symphonic Orchestra at the University of Lviv. She often recalled the memory of participating in a concert conducted by Aram Khachaturian, having been handed a flower by the well-known composer. She also played with the Folklore Ensemble at the University of Lviv and the Chamber Ensemble of the Moscow State University.  

Those who met her were warmed by her most gentle smile and warm, empathizing eyes. She was a woman who never missed a day without taking the time to look at the sky, a woman of strong faith - a devout christian of the Russian Orthodox church -  and a self-sacrificing, compassionate mother.

Galina is survived by her husband, six children, ten grandchildren, two brothers and their families. 

In lieu of flowers, spend time with your children, plant flowers and trees, take walks on the beach, learn about new scientific discoveries and read books of philosophers and thinkers. That is what Galina would wish for you. 

Donations in her memory may be sent to St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, 343 N. Maple St., Enfield, Connecticut.