Iskra Borisovna Sirota died the morning of Thursday, November 5th at her home, in Queens, New York. She was in great spirits and passed away quickly surrounded by her daughter, granddaughter and longtime caregiver and friend. It was exactly how she would have wanted to go - quickly and without suffering.
She was born in Ukraine in 1926 and lived in Dnipropetrovsk most of her life. During WWII, she lived in evacuation in Almaty, Kazakhstan with her mother and sister, where she finished high school. After the war she went to Kiev and successfully graduated Medical School. She was working many years as a Neurologist in the Neurological department of Dnepropetrovsk Hospital. She loved her profession and her patients.
Iskra was a loving daughter of her parents, a beautiful woman surrounded by her family.
In 1996, after she was widowed, she bravely left her life behind to immigrate to New York City in order to join her daughter and granddaughter. Even though she was already in retirement at age 70, she pursued her new life with great energy and joy - learning English, making friends, exploring her new city, attending Carnegie Hall, and the Metropolitan Opera. She was a good companion to those who needed her. She lived for her family, exulting in her role as great-grandmother in particular. In the last several years, she even mastered social media and smart tablets in order to stay in touch with her family and share in all of their adventures and life. She also enjoyed listening to the music, reading funny stories, following politics, and watching movies.
We will forever remember Iskra for her incredible resilience, thirst for joy in everyday life, optimism, sense of humor, laughter and singing.
She is survived by her daughter, Rima Natapova (New York), her grand-daughter, Anna Natapova (Boston) and two great grand-sons Simon and Eli Natapov-White (Boston).
Services will be private at Parkside Memorial Chapels.
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