Gregory M Gendelev

Gregory Morris Gendelev (March 1st, 1937 - March 2nd, 2026) was born in St. Petersburg, Russia (form. Leningrad) to Lubov Sandler (z"l) and Moshe Gendelev (z"l). During WWII the family was evacuated to Kazakhstan and later moved to Western Belarus. In 1951, during the brutal Stalinist regime, Greg’s father was arrested for possession of a Jewish newspaper and sent to a labor camp in Siberia. Greg went to work to support his mother and three sisters and completed high school classes at night. Then, he attended Belarus State University in Minsk and earned a PhD in Mathematics. He was a very early pioneer of computer and software development, and began working at a computer plant in the city in 1958.

In 1958, Greg met Luba (Lubov) Pens (z"l). They married in 1960, and had their two children, Boris and Elena, in 1961 and 1966 respectively.

In 1978, Greg and his family were granted permission to leave the former Soviet Union to escape the oppressive state, riddled by antisemitism. They immigrated to the US and settled in Denver in 1979, where he continued his wonderful career in software engineering and quality assurance at Martin Marietta (later Lockheed Martin) until his retirement in 2001.

In the 1980s and 1990s, much of Luba and Greg’s extended family also forged new lives in America. As the first part of the family to have made this journey, they played a key role in facilitating and supporting these transitions of their loved ones.

In 2001, Luba and Greg moved to Colorado Springs, where they enjoyed retirement and family. They led active lives, taking in the beautiful scenery of the Pikes Peak Region on multiple walks per day, and line dancing regularly. They frequented musical performances, especially in the classical genre. A handful of times per year, they vacationed at the base of the Spanish Peaks in the Town of La Veta, a community they quickly grew to adore.

Greg was an enormously intellectual and creative man with wide ranging interests. He had great passions for classical music and a special genre of Russian song called Romances. He and Luba organized over 70 lectures/discussions with their compatriots in Denver and throughout the country, in the style of European salons, on various musical, poetic, and literary themes and topics. Greg compiled information and contents from these to be available on his website (gendelev52.wordpress.com).

Greg was a beloved friend to many throughout his life, with lifelong friendships spanning all the way back to childhood and to all other periods since.

He was predeceased by his wife of 59 years, Luba, and his parents. He leaves behind his son Boris (Kathryn) of Milwaukee and daughter Elena of Colorado Springs, grandchildren Katelyn (Boris) and Sam (Elena), three sisters Raisa (Lazar z"l), Marina (Yakov z"l), and Tatiana (Boris), and multiple nieces and nephews. He is simply unforgettable, for countless reasons. He will be cherished in our hearts and minds for eternity זיכרונו לברכה

A Celebration of Life/Memorial is being planned, and information will be posted here soon.

To honor Greg’s love of music, donations may be made to the Colorado College Summer Music Festival, which he and Luba attended and supported for many years at coloradocollege.edu/other/summermusicfestival/support/donate-and-sponsor.html, or to the Colorado Springs Philharmonic at csphilharmonic.org/donation.

z"l - may his/her memory be a blessing