Vyacheslav Savvovich Khmelev

Vyacheslav “Slav” Savvovich Khmelev was born on 26 August, 1951 in Dubno, Ukraine to the family of Saveliy Khmelev and Lydia Khmeleva. He and his younger sister, Galina had a tough childhood growing up in the area devastated by the WW2. At the age of 17, Slav left his parents’ home to attend military school in Leningrad. Upon graduation, he became a commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Soviet Army and was stationed in the Arctic. During his next duty station in Belarus, he met and married the love of his life, Irina. Together, they had two sons, Yevgeniy and Alexander. Slav continued to serve in the Russian Army in Arkhangelsk Region until his retirement. He retired at the rank of Colonel shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Family was very important to Slav and in order to provide better life for his sons, he immigrated to the United States, settling in Joplin, MO. After moving to Missouri, Slav opened his own small company, XBC Trucking and spent the remainder of his life working as a truck driver.

Hard work, perseverance and love for his children were the most important things in Slav’s life. He will be greatly missed by his wife of 37 years, Irina Khmeleva of Carl Junction, MO, his sons, Yevgeniy and Alexander Khmelev, daughter-in-law, Megan Khmelev and his grandchildren, Maksim, Elena and Roman Khmelev, all of San Antonio, TX. He is also survived by his sister, Galina Kondakova, his nephew, Slavka Kondakov and niece, Galina, all of Moscow, Russia.

The Memorial service will be conducted at 10:00 am on Saturday, 5 September 2015 at the Sunset Memorial Chapel in San Antonio, TX.