ForoJudio.com lamenta profundamente la sensible pérdida de la Sra. Busia Kostov Z”L

Por:
- - Visto 1285 veces


Sra. Busia Kostov Z”L

Expresamos nuestras más sentidas condolencias a Eugenia Kuttler Kostov (hija), y Leonardo López Cámara, (nieto) por el fallecimiento de la Sra. Busia Kostov acaecida el pasado 29 de diciembre del 2010.

El entierro se llevó a cabo el pasado Domingo 2 de enero en Sorrento Valley.

Eugenia recibirá a amigos y familiares en casa de su madre (en San Diego, CA.) el martes y jueves próximo por la tarde.

Para confirmar su visita, favor de comunicarse al:
Tel.: (858) 597-8091
[email protected]

Que la familia no sepa más de penas.

BK Bio some points

BUSIA KOSTOV = BRAINA KOSTOVETZKAYA
Very long & very interesting life

I) Born 1910 _ Levkov, Ukraine (near Zhitomir …. Then Kiev)

She came from a family based on love (a few years ago we heard the story for the 1st time from some “landsmen” that lived in Israel): her parents (among the first for their time too) had to elope to get married: my grandfather’s family was well off and they didn’t want him to marry this poor girl. On the other side, my grandmother’s mother was left a widow at a young age, with two children. She didn’t think my grandfather’s family was “well learned”. David and Yoja (from Yoheved, like Moses’ mother) loved talking and discussing the Torah, and used to meet in secret against their parents’ will.

My grandfather had a mill outside the town, on the Teterev river. I don’t know anything about his family.

When my mother talks about her life as a child, what stands out mostly is the fear of pogroms: she remembers my grandfather coming home all beaten up, soaked in blood, that even my grandmother didn’t recognize at first; or my mother hiding under the table when there was a knock at the door, and my grandmother telling the Cossacks that there was typhus in the home, so they wouldn’t come in.

Out of fear, her parents rented a room in the nearby town: Zhitomir, where she & her brother lived as young children & were taught school (like a heder, I suppose). My grandfather came every weekend to bring them food. I can’t imagine what it could have been like for 2 young children living away from home, but my mother doesn’t seem to have a complaint.

They spoke Yiddish at home, of course, but I think that my mother did get to go to Russian school for a year.

But the nice souvenir she has was of the town’s (Ukrainian)youth coming to her terrace (her house was the last on the street and only one with a terrace) on Sundays and singing beautifully.

With the revolution, their neighbor (and my mother’s best friend’s father), who owned the pharmacy was killed for being a “Bourgeoui”; and my mother’s other friend went to the komsomol (she later married an “Ivan”), so, in 1925, my grandparents decided to leave. (I imagine their lives so much like Fiddler on the Roof”) My grandfather wanted to rejoin his brother in the States, but because of the “quota” they went to Mexico instead.

They took the boat from Rotterdam to Veracruz. It was a horrible trip! My mother asked my grandfather why they had to go in 3rd class; the answer: because there is no 4th! He needed to get to Mexico with as much money as possible.

II) Mex 1925 | } 15 years old with her parents & 2 younger brothers

My mother, a young 15 year old woman, with no language, no knowledge of Mexican history, literature, etc, almost no education, coming from this Jewish orthodox family, managed to go to “preparatoria” (high school) and graduate in record time and with high honors.

She was, as you can imagine, one of the first women, and certainly Jewish women, to go to the University; not only did she study, but she graduated, got a professional degree; and worked as a chemist, which she started doing as soon as she graduated.

She integrated herself very well in her student, professional and working circles. They found her interesting, charming, and she was very popular.

She also had a very active social life among the young Jewish immigrants. They all got together for dances, discussions, and outings. It sounds like they had a great, interesting time! (Tacuba 7)

Among them was a young man with whom she had a lot in common: they were both professionals and shared many interests and values! They had so much in common that I’m sure everybody felt they were meant for each other. It took a long time for my father to propose.

When I was born, Russian was spoken at home, and Russian music was always playing. [culture]

Unfortunately, it didn’t last long & what my parents had going for them was not as strong as what they had against them.

After a long and nasty divorce, my mother was left to fend alone for herself & her little daughter. Not only did she not get child support, but whatever she had was taken away from her.

A divorcee at the time, and having to support herself and a daughter was also a first. She worked very hard, most of the years in the same job: at the “Seguro Social” (a national governmental institution that offers health care for all the workers). She worked in the clinical laboratory & had other jobs: at pharmaceutical companies, in pharmacies, and for a while she had her own lab. She had to retire early due to coronary problems.

Times were hard, and it wasn’t until she was 50 that she bought her first car: a small two door Volvo. We hired a driver to help us while we were confident enough to drive ourselves. My mother was uncomfortable having someone drive her and wait for her, and felt she wasn’t born to be rich.

(I don’t know if you can imagine what it was like learning to drive, at 50, in Mexico City? Seeing my mother drive was a nightmare. She got in one of the round-circles … but couldn’t get out of it! I went to Europe, and couldn’t stop worrying and having night-mares about my mother driving. I was so relieved when, after a couple of years, she sold the car!)

It’s hard to imagine that with her life, working so hard, she could do anything else, but she had many interests, a very active social life, and moved in Mexico‘s professional, artistic and intellectual circles. There was no concert, lecture, theater production, art show, etc. she would miss. (She always took me so I was exposed at an early age to the cultural world around us. When I was about 11, I remember being terribly impressed by Erik From; or being disgusted when Diego Rivera kissed my hand at Frida Kahlo’s funeral.)

We also traveled a lot in Mexico and I got to see most of the South of the country with her.

And ….. she couldn’t remain quiet and do nothing about the things that were wrong around her: she was active in the war effort: first the Spanish War, and then WWII.

She was one of the women who founded, was president many times and worked continuously in what was the Women’s Section of the Jewish Central Committee (This was like the Jewish Federation). This group later became and affiliated itself with the Council of Jewish Women.

[Social work:] They were the first to work, as Jews, for the poor in Mexico: they started the first day-care center for working women; help collect money, build and maintain the Albert Einstein Secundaria (Junior High); give scholarships to University students, etc.. (I remember, again, as a little girl, helping collect money for the RedCross, or handing out toys every Christmas).

My mother was also active in organizations like Aliat Hanoar, defending the Civil Rights of Russian Jewish Dissidents, OSE, and certainly others I don’t remember.

Her interests, social life and social work gave her an opportunity to meet many of the “personalities” of our time: she was a close friend of one of the 3 great Mexican painters: Siquieros, and his family. She knew and visited Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. She got to meet international figures like Leon Trotsky and Eleanor Roosevelt, and many of the Russian writers, musicians, & dissidents.

Dinner parties were a common occurrence at our house, and when she learned she was known as a great hostess and cook, she slowed down. That wasn’t going to be what she would be known for!

There was a time, it just happened, when people started dropping in for coffee after dinner (our dinner, around 2:30). The most unexpected and interesting reunions took place!

At another period of our lives, it just so happened, too, we began having lectures at our house. It started with one, then another one, and more people began coming. I imagine it was like the French “salons”. ….One evening, the bell kept ringing, I kept opening, and people kept coming in with a chair and a cup: they had heard about our lectures, and that we didn’t have enough chairs or cups for everyone. Well, it got too big for us and had to stop, but it was a great time!

My mother kept her active life until she came here. It got to where I was really worried finding out she was not going to miss an art opening, a lecture, even if she had to go alone and take a taxi at night, not knowing how she would come back. This is at 88 and in today’s Mexico!

When she came here she missed her life style very much: her independence, her walks everyday to the market, the bank, the park; the friends she visited, that visited her, with whom she went out, met for coffee or dinner, ….. The telephone was always ringing! If she was at home, she had company, but most of the time she was out!

III) SD 1998 | _ } 73 years

100th birthday 08-22-2010

  • now (09), she’s calm, happy (always smiling– people in the street have stopped to tell her not to ever stop smiling), enjoying her life (especially coming here) and, well … you know too well how much she likes to sing (can you believe it if I tell you she never sang before?). She used to tell me she worked very hard to be able to enjoy her later life. It’s so true! she never had it so good & she deserves it.

Death 12-29-10

Envía tus condolencias

El tamaño máximo de subida de archivos: 300 MB. Puedes subir: imagen, audio, vídeo, documento, hoja de cálculo, interactivo, texto, archivo, código, otra. Los enlaces a YouTube, Facebook, Twitter y otros servicios insertados en el texto del comentario se incrustarán automáticamente. Suelta el archivo aquí