Veronika Levtova

We are heartbroken to share the passing of VERONIKA LEVTOVA on July 3rd, 2024, at the age of sixty-seven. She leaves behind her husband Dmitri Chtchvyrkov, her daughters Alina (Oran) and Natalie, her grandchildren, Kathleen Anne and Anthony Jude and her step-granddaughter Julie, her mother Klara, and her extended family. She is predeceased by her father Boris. Veronika will be deeply missed by her friends both here and abroad, and by her colleagues at the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital.

Veronika was born in Moscow, Russia (USSR). She graduated from the First Moscow Medical Institute, earned a PhD in Neurology and Neurophysiology, and worked as a clinician and researcher in the field of epilepsy. In the early 1990s, she accepted a research position at the Montreal Neurological Institute. In the wake of the unrest following the fall of the USSR, Veronika uprooted her career and her family in search of a better life in Canada. We are forever grateful for her and Dmitri’s courage and self-sacrifice in making the decision to leave behind their culture, friends, and careers for the unknown. Faced with insurmountable obstacles to practice as a doctor in Quebec, Veronika chose to enter a new profession – and discovered a new passion. Veronika completed a Bachelor’s degree in Physiotherapy from McGill University and spent the last 20+ years of her career at the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital as a physiotherapist in the Trauma program. She was respected and admired as a clinician and as a clinical instructor for McGill and UdeM physiotherapy students.

Veronika loved spending time outdoors, especially in the woods and in her beloved Westmount Park. She also enjoyed tai-chi, cross-country skiing, and doting on her grandchildren. She loved history and literature and had a special place in her heart for British culture and humor. We will forever think of her anytime we open a Jane Austen book or hear the overtures of her favorite ballets and operas. To be loved by Veronika was to have the privilege of being let in on her wry sense of humor, her sincerity, her extraordinary intelligence and her devotion to others.

Our thanks to the K9 unit nurses, patient attendants, allied health professionals, and other staff at the Jewish General Hospital who touched Veronika and us with their exceptional kindness and care, with a special thank you to Dr Shannon Salvador, Dr Cristina Nebunescu Schirliu, Vasthie Cadet and Areti Anastassopoulos.

Our family will commemorate Veronika in a private ceremony at the Centre funéraire Côte-des-Neiges. In lieu of flowers, we warmly welcome donations to the DOvEEgene project: https://muhcfoundation.com/?form=FUNGFUANRQK. To find out more about the DOvEE gene project, please visit https://doveegene.com/.