Ludmila Alexandrovna Michael

Born in Nizhny Tagil in the Sverdlovskaya region of the USSR on January 11, 1959, Ludmila grew up in a transformative era for the Soviet Union. She had an early interest in teaching and attended the Hertzen Pedagogical Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia where she received a Master’s Degree in Foreign Language Teaching.

Following more than eight years of teaching English at the high school and college level in St. Petersburg Ludmila emigrated to the United States in 1991. She began teaching ESL students at George Washington University and soon started teaching all levels of Russian Language at George Washington and Johns Hopkins Universities.

Outside of work Ludmila enjoyed traveling, gardening, hiking, biking and knitting. She was always very active usually choosing her bike over the car when going anywhere in the city. More often than not she would arrive at her destination with a bike helmet under her arm and a flush in her cheeks after weaving through DC traffic.

In addition to her passion for teaching Ludmila had a true love of knitting. She was highly skilled and could make beautiful pieces with seemingly no effort. Many friends and neighbors were the lucky recipients of her one of-a-kind creations.

Over 15 years ago Ludmila became involved with the Knitting Ministry at the Washington National Cathedral. Her work with this group led to an ongoing relationship with Bright Beginnings, a child and family development center located in S.E. DC. Ludmila and her group have knit hundreds of items of clothing for children and families in need, creating a legacy of warmth and caring.

Ludmila is survived by her sister Olga Raeva, brother-in-law Yuri, niece Natasha and grand niece Liza, all of Yekaterinburg, Russia; in addition she leaves several brothers and sisters in-law here in the U.S.: Patricia and Richard Ballot, Wendy and Martin Michael, Virginia and Robert Leier, Maureen and William Oberdorf, Eileen and Ron Vogel, Mary Elizabeth Michael and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Jack Michael who passed in September 2021.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 1315 36th Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20007, on Friday, August 28th at 10:30 AM.

Committal will take place at Holy Rood Cemetery the following day, Saturday, August 29th at 11:30AM.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Bright Beginnings at bbidc.org, your local PBS station or any cause that is close to your heart.