Obituary of Yelena Gisina

YELENA GISINA 1937-2010 YELENA GISINA, 72, of Knolls Rd, Niskayuna passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 3, 2010 at Northwoods Rehabilitation Center in Niskayuna, NY after an extended fight with several illnesses. Yelena Gisina (nee: Lyubchanskaya), was born in 1937 in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) Russia, to the Jewish parents who came from Belorus after the Bolshevik revolution that allowed Jews to move to big cities from the shtetls. In the age of four, after surviving the first winter of the "Siege of the Leningrad" during WWII, she was among the last ones who were evacuated from the city by the "Road to Life" - the ice road over the frozen Lake Ladoga, just days before it was melted away in the spring of 1942. It was the famous historical event of WWII. At that time she was the eldest of three children in the family, all survived the escape. She graduated from the high school in 1954 and was admitted to the Leningrad Technological Institute. Since the graduation in1959 with BS/MS in Chemistry she worked at the large Rubber Manufacturing Company "Krasniy Treugolnik" her whole career that spanned over 37 years. She was a well known specialist, her skills and desire to teach and help others were highly appreciated by many co-workers. She retired from the position of the manager of the Scale and Measurement Laboratory. In 1996 she immigrated to the USA with the refugee status to start the new page in her life. She learned many news skills in this country including driving. She was an active member of B'nai B'rith House community and Hadassah. As a volunteer English-Russian translator and interpreter, Yelena helped many needy newcomers and the management of the B'nai B'rith House. She got married in 1959 to Simon Gisin with whom she studied together in the college and had two children. Survivors also include her son Boris Gisin (Julia) who lives in Niskayuna and daughter Dvora (Michael) Lukin who lives in Jerusalem, Israel; three granddaughters in the USA and three grandsons in Israel; brother Mark Lyubchansky in Russia; and four nieces in Russia, Germany and Switzerland. She was pre-deceased by her father Solomon Lyubchansky in 1983, her mother Goda Lyubchanskaya in 2000 and her sister Sophia in 1995. The family wishes to thank the staff of Ellis hospital, Sunnyview and Northwoods rehabilitation centers for the support over the last ten months of this difficult fight for life, with the special thanks to Dr. Dworkin. Yelena was a vibrant person who always wanted to be in the center of the action, always willing to help everyone in need. She will be deeply missed by her family and many friends. Services at Congregation Gates of Heaven, 852 Ashmore Avenue, Schenectady on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 1:00 PM. Interment will follow in the Gates of Heaven Cemetery, Schenectady, NY