A memorial service will be held in the future at St Andrew Memorial Orthodox Church, in South Bound Brook, NJ.
Larissa was born on May 30th, 1930 in Poltava, Ukraine. In 1943, Larissa, her parents, Ivan and Tetiana Diachenko, and her sister Alexandra left Ukraine becoming WW2 refugees. They moved between numerous Displaced Persons Camps in Europe for many years ending with a camp in Augsburg, Germany. She came to the United States in 1950, worked, got married and had 3 children. While her children were growing up she was active in the community of Smithtown, NY serving as President of the PTA, Girl Scout Leader, and President of the Arts Council. She loved art, history, music, reading, writing, traveling and the beach. Later in life she worked at Adelphia University Library and studied at Suffolk Community College and Adelphia. She was an artist, a writer, a historian and a loving mother.
With great sorrow, she is survived by her loving: Son and Spouse Christopher Bernhardt (Karen); Daughters and Spouses, Larissa Herda (Steve) and Valerie Loebach (Tony); Grandchildren Kimberley Bernhardt, Taylor and Dylan Herda and Natalie Loebach; Sister, Alexandra Kochman; Nieces, Adrienne and Svitlana Kochman.
Her grandson, Matthew Loebach predeceased her on September 8th 2013.
In lieu of flowers, charitable donations may be made in Larissa’s memory to:
The Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation, kmfoundation.org
Kyiv Mohyla Foundation of America (KMFA) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization established to support the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy to reach excellence in education and innovative research, to help students and faculty achieve personal and intellectual growth and to contribute to Ukraine’s democratic reform.
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