Irina Rozentsveyg

Irina was a force of nature that you could not contain. Over her 72 years, she wore many hats, several of which she made herself - sister, mother, grandmother, friend, nurse, gardener, artist, and seamstress are just a few. She was stronger and braver than most. She was resolute and made sure you were, too. Nothing was unachievable when she set her mind to it. When she wasn’t out surmounting the insurmountable, she could be found tending to her garden, sewing, enjoying a glass of wine, sneaking chocolate, and most recently indulging in Chinese and Korean-language historical dramas. Her death leaves a hole in the lives of her daughter and son-in-law, and her two grandsons, as well as numerous family members, friends, and former colleagues.

She was born in February of 1953 in postwar Leningrad, in the Soviet Union to Shloymo and Esther Berdichevsky. She was a mischievous little sister to Luba. Irina was bright and capable, but as a Jewish child, fought to make her way in the world, fought to get into the right school, fought to get access to intellectual literature to expand her mind, fought through Soviet propaganda and limitations. She was a precocious child who grew into a fiercely independent young woman.

She was an artist at heart, and became a nurse due to limited opportunity. In 1975, at the age of 22, she married and gave birth to her only child, Dina. Finding both her marriage and soviet society stifling, she divorced her husband and emigrated to America with her 3 year old daughter, as a Jewish refugee in search of freedom and opportunity, before the Iron Curtain closed. She made it, only barely. She took on additional work as a seamstress to make enough money for the trip, traveling with other refugees through Austria and Italy. Upon arriving in Brooklyn, she spent the next 9 years working feverishly to build a life for herself and her daughter, and fighting to liberate her parents and extended family from the Soviet Union, ultimately bringing across 3 generations now settled successfully across the United States.

Irina put herself through Brooklyn College, working full time as a nurse and raising Dina as a single parent. She was smart and hard working, and further specialized in anesthesia in 1988. She excelled at her profession for over 36 years, and she was proud of her skills and ability to help people. She was compassionate and kind, she donated her time and care to medical missions in Haiti and Columbia. She fought fiercely and mischievously against overbearing healthcare bureaucracy. She was proud to work for underserved populations, she believed fiercely in the right to quality healthcare, and advocated for patients.

Irina was passionate about many other things too- art, music, history, architecture, philosophy and literature. She loved to travel and wanted to learn and know as much as possible- she was always curious, always clever, always unconventional. She loved to cook and was an avid gardener, whether it was on a summer house in upstate NY, a terrace in Brooklyn or a front yard in Queens. In 2014, she co-designed her house, built from the ground up. Her home today is filled with books, beautiful art, light, plants and color. She made everything beautiful and interesting. She was an excellent and creative seamstress, sewing beautiful dresses and coats, pillows and throws, scarves and curtains that many of her friends and family hold dear in their collections today.

Those who knew her know that Irina loved her family. She was a strong support for her daughter, and a loving mother-in-law to Harry. She fawned over her two grandchildren, Simon and Noah. They all miss her dearly.

Irina was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in the spring of 2022. She fought bravely and fiercely, with experience, having survived colon cancer 20 years earlier. Even while enduring chemotherapy, Irina continued to do what she enjoyed- working, gardening, sewing, spending time with grandchildren and family, traveling and cooking. She remained fiercely herself.

Donations in her memory can be made to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance at https://ocrahope.org/get-involved/ways-to-give/make-a-donation/

A funeral service for Irina will be held Friday, March 14, 2025 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM at Schwartz Brothers-Jeffer Memorial Chapels, 114-03 Queens Blvd, Forest Hills, NY 11375.