Obituary of Sima Petukhov

Sima Petukhov (née Mechengisser) was born on November 29^th, 1930 in a small town Korosten in Zhitomir region of Ukraine to Tsylya (née Yagudina) and Mikhel Mechengisser. Her parents were both Jewish. Mikhel worked as an accountant until he was conscripted to the army in 1939. He ended his service in 1956 in the rank of Major. During WWII, Mikhel’s artillery unit operated in Ukraine, Caucasus Mountains and went through the whole of Europe to Austria. He met the end of the war in Vienna. Tsylya, Sima and her younger siter Lyuba were evacuated to Kyrgyzstan where they survived during the Holocaust. Unfortunately, Sima’s grandparents could not leave Zhitomir region and tragically perished in the Nazi-occupied Ukraine.

 

After the war the family reunited and settled in Lviv, Ukraine, where Sima attended university and met her future husband Gregory Petukhov (1930-2007) who was a senior law student at the same university. Sima graduated from the Lviv University with a degree in Spanish and English languages and literature.  After changing several places in Russia and Ukraine in search of jobs and housing, Gregory, Sima and their son Andre moved to Odessa, Ukraine, the city with fascinating cosmopolitan history and traditions, and one of the largest seaports on the Black Sea. This explains why Sima liked Santa Barbara and especially the ocean. In Odessa Gregory became a law professor at the university and Sima worked as a technical English translator. Eventually, she also joined the Odessa State University (OSU) as an English professor and worked at OSU until her family emigrated to the United States in the early nineties.    

 

Sima was a dedicated teacher and an avid reader. She liked coffee, music, dancing, yoga and Agatha Christie. In her later years she became a bingo “high roller” and she was always young at heart.  But first and foremost, she was a loving and caring mother, grandmother, sister and wife.  Our beloved Mama, Babushka, Baba Sima, Abuelita will always be remembered as young, stylish, witty and classy.

 

Sima will be missed immensely by her friends, relatives and her immediate family:

Her son Andre and his wife Marina;

Her granddaughters Olya, Tanya and her great-grandson Gregory;

Her sister Lyuba;

Her nephew Michael, his wife Inna and their children Alyssa, Sam and Kira.

 

 

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