Alexandra McClendon passed away November 19, 2019 in Largo, Florida, she was 82. Alexandra was born 1937 in Lviv, Ukraine, and at the age of 3, her family left Ukraine to escape the invasions of WWII. Quick arrangements were made to flee to Poland, however, on arrival they found the Nazis occupied the city of Lodz, and the refuge that was sought became a detention camp. This began a long nine year journey of struggle and escape for the Hugel family that finally ended in New York at her age of 12. Her parents Alexander and Helen had four children, three daughters, Stephania (deceased), Jaroslava, Alexandra, and son Ivan (Ivan passed away before the family immigrated). Alexandra is survived by her two children, Robert and Elena, four grandchildren, Caleb, Camden, Tamryn, and Bodhi, sister Slava, and two nieces, Martha and Roma, (niece, Lidia-deceased).
Alexandra found peace and hope in her strong religious beliefs, and she enjoyed sharing those beliefs with family and friends. Her struggles as a child during the war cemented those beliefs, with one of her favorite stories often retold - a house fire in Ukraine that destroyed everything except for her father’s bible that was left untouched. So dear to her, she kept this bible close until her passing. As a youth she was part of a Ukrainian dance group in Buffalo, and she eventually moved to Mountain View, California to work for the Pacific Press Publishing Company. In the early 70’s, Alexandra moved from San Jose with her husband and two children to Lake Havasu City, AZ where she worked at McCulloch Corporation and enjoyed boating on the lake with family and friends. In 1986, she moved to Tempe, AZ and worked for Best Western Corporation for a couple of years. Her career as an executive secretary eventually took her to North Port, FL, in the late 80’s where she worked for the Charlotte County Attorney’s Office until her retirement. Alexandra will be remembered for her kind and giving heart, and a conviction that she would one day win the lottery and share that wealth with family and friends, but little did she know that her winning ticket to share was her faith and love that touched so many. Her family is eternally grateful for the care that her niece Roma bestowed during her final stages of life.
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