Mr. Lev Ostrovsky

Lev was born in Moscow, Russia on May 28, 1947, to Moisey and Hasya (Klara) Ostrovsky. Due to the poor health of his father who was a World War II veteran, and the family's limited financial resources, Lev had to support his parents and himself from the age of 15, working full time as a locksmith. During that time, he continued to study towards his high school diploma in the evening school. At the age of 18, as most young men in Russia did at that time, he enlisted to serve in the army for 2 years far away from home. Following his military service, Lev returned to Moscow and was determined to continue his education. He continued working, but this time he found a position being employed as a support technician in the information technology laboratory. After work, Lev was devoted to his studies towards his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Economics and Statistics.

In 1972, he married Bela Litrovnik, with whom he shared 39 years of life, and soon their daughter Marina was born. Although Lev had to focus even more on supporting his family, he never quit his studies. He was constantly praised for his academic achievements and for his work and was always respected by his peers and managers. He was one of the first information technology professionals in Russia and became a highly recognized specialist in his field. Many Moscow-based organizations sought his advice and services.

In 1991, Lev, his wife and daughter immigrated to Israel. It was difficult to start all over again at the age of 44, but Lev was no stranger to hard work. His personal and professional qualities were soon recognized by everyone he met in Israel.

Six years ago, Lev and Bela followed their daughter and her family to the United States, where they made a home in Hopkinton, Massachsuetts. He continued working, studying, and helped to care for his granddaughters. He became a dedicated student in ESL classes and was highly praised by his teachers. He still continued working part-time up until 1 month before his passing.

Lev was an erudite and an intellectual. He loved to read, could lead discussions on many different topics and had many rare words in his vocabulary. He loved to exercise his brain by finding solutions to difficult technical problems or just by solving crosswords and Sudoku puzzles. He was a true Engineer, always trying to improve how things work and fix what was broken. He had a bright mind and clever hands.

Lev was great with children, knew how to play and make them laugh and how to teach them, and kids always loved him. He taught his daughter and granddaughters so many things. He had a beautiful smile and heart-warming laughter. He loved nature, music, dancing and spending time with his family and friends. He was very loyal to the people he loved and they always could rely on him.

Lev was happy when he had an opportunity to make things better, to apply his talents, knowledge and experience.

Lev is survived by his wife, Bela, his daughter Marina and her husband Alexander and their two children Alisa and Veronica.

Funeral Services will be held at Stanetsky Memorial Chapel, 1668 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA 02445 on Thursday June 2, 2011 at 12:00 Noon. Interment to follow at Puritan Cemetery, 776 Baker Street, West Roxbury, MA. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend.