Dr. Valeriya Aleksandrovna Khudyakova

Valeriya Aleksandrovna Khudyakova (née Matveeva) was born in 1925 in Belozersk, one of the oldest towns in Russia (founded 1200 years ago), located 400 miles north of Moscow. Her parents were Aleksandr Petrovich and Elena Alekseevna Matveev, both schoolteachers. She had two brothers, Yuliy and Evgeniy. Aleksandr Petrovich was conscripted into the military in 1943 to fight against Germany in WWII and was killed six months later on the Western Front. Valeriya Aleksandrovna moved to Moscow after the war and married Vladimir Vasilyevich Khudyakov on September 17, 1948. They met while studying at university and performing at a sports parade. They loved traveling together around Russia. Their only son, Igor, was born in 1949.

Valeriya Aleksandrovna graduated Moscow Power Engineering Institute in 1948 and received her PhD in Electrical Engineering in 1960. She worked at the All-Union Research Institute of Cable Industry in Moscow for 35 years as a Senior Engineer, Laboratory Chief, and Department Chief. She oversaw the work of 150 engineers in this capacity and specialized in high-frequency communication links. She was also a Convener of the Scientific Council at her Institute and presented her work abroad. She had a brilliant mind and personality and was loved and respected by her colleagues, family, and friends.

Valeriya Aleksandrovna’s son Igor received his PhD in Chemistry and married Irina Petrovna Basmanova in 1978. Their only daughter Jane was born in 1981. Valeriya Aleksandrovna retired in 1985 to spend more time with her granddaughter. The family spent summers together at their beloved country house (dacha) in Barybino, a small village 40 miles south of Moscow. Vladimir Vasilyevich planted an apple orchard, strawberries, currant and gooseberry bushes, and a variety of vegetables. Their son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter moved to the United States in 1991. Valeriya Alexandrovna and Vladimir Vasilyevich followed in 1999, settling in Hickory, North Carolina, near their family. Their granddaughter moved to California to pursue her PhD in Biology in 2003 and married Joseph Paul Schramm in 2009. Valeriya Alexandrovna and Vladimir Vasilyevich were members of the Corinth Reformed Church in Hickory since 2003. Valeriya Alexandrovna is survived by her husband, son, and daughter-in-law, who live in Hickory; granddaughter, who lives in California; and brother Evgeniy, who lives in Russia. They will always remember Valeriya Aleksandrovna Khudyakova as an honest, caring, intelligent, and modest person.