Ludmila Gleizer

Ludmila Shvabsky Gleizer, known as "Lucy" to her friends and "Babushka" to her grandchildren, passed away peacefully on December 10th at Suburban Hospital with her son Sergey and daughter Zoya at her side. She was the middle child of three, born in1935 in Odesa, Ukraine, to parents Rita and Alexander. She was preceded in death by her husband Mikhail Gleizer and her older sister Nadya Shvabsky.

Lucy survived WWII, only to lose her mother to cancer shortly after the war’s end at age 11. She survived Stalin’s purges and many years of antisemitic persecution under Soviet rule. She married Mikhail in 1958. After their first child was born, they lived for several years in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia before returning to Odesa.

Lucy and Mikhail emigrated from Odesa to the United States in 1977, charting a course for many friends and relatives who later followed. Lucy and Mikhail spent 34 years in Houston, TX, before moving to Maryland in 2001.

Lucy loved music, literature, dancing, singing, travel, ping pong, and all sorts of games. She was fiercely independent and opinionated. She cared deeply about world events. Most of all, she loved her children and grandchildren, and was enormously proud of each of them.

She is survived by her son Sergey Gleizer; daughter Zoya Gleizer (Michael Stavrianos); grandchildren Gillian Gleizer (Mark Izrailev), Andrew Gleizer, Chloe Stavrianos, and Jacob Stavrianos; great-granddaughter Dalia Izrailev; and younger sister Alla Shvabsky.

A reception for Ludmila will be held Friday, December 15, 2023 at 11:00 AM at Joseph Gawler's Sons, LLC, 5130 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016. A memorial service will occur Friday, December 15, 2023 at 12:00 PM, 5130 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016. A burial will occur Friday, December 15, 2023 at 2:00 PM at Garden of Remembrance, 14321 Comus Rd, Clarksburg, MD.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Ludmila's memory may be made to Razom, https://www.razomforukraine.org/; The Washington Balalaika Society, https://www.balalaika.org/; and Yachad, https://www.yachad-dc.org/.