Thank you all for being here today to say goodbye together to my mother,
your grandmother, great-grandmother, and mother-in-law.

My mother lived a long and very eventful life.

She was born in Moscow in 1933.
During the war years, she had to flee to escape the approaching thunder of cannons.
Early on, she learned what it meant to be strong and to adapt again and again to new situations.
She studied at the University of Moscow.

That is where she met my father.
He took her with him to Dresden, where they built a family together.
In 1958, she came to Germany—without speaking a single word of German.
But my mother did not let that stop her.

At first, she worked at the aircraft factory in Dresden.
Through diligence and determination, she later became an interpreter and translator
in the field of technology.

Education and learning were always important to her.

In 1973, with the purchase of her garden, she created her own personal oasis.
It was her favorite place.
She loved flowers, fruit, and vegetables and spent many happy hours there.
She would have loved to build a house on it, but the political conditions at the time
did not allow this wish to come true.
Nevertheless, the garden remained a place of peace and joy for her.

In 2019, at the age of 86, she took another big step
and moved to America to be with us.
A new environment, a new life.
After some time, she too recognized the advantages of this country
and adapted astonishingly well.

My mother loved to travel.
She visited 64 countries and traveled abroad more than 80 times.
She even made it as far as China and Mongolia.
Together we spent winter holidays in Moscow
or skiing in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Summer vacations meant Hungary, Bulgaria, or Crimea.
Not without reason did we call her our “traveling little frog.”

She remained eager to learn well into old age.
She was interested in world politics and in new technologies.
At 83, she even learned how to use a smartphone—with emails, WhatsApp, and video calls.
Not everyone has that much energy and curiosity at such an age.

She was interested in people, their origins, and their stories.

My mother had two wonderful children—sadly, we are here today without my brother Andreas—
two grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and many friends and acquaintances.

She was very energetic.
If she wanted something, she made it happen.
She was direct and honest—sometimes challenging, but always herself.
Very different from my father.
But opposites do attract.
At times, it was not easy with her, because for her there was often only black or white.
But every person has many facets—my mother included.

She passed on her love of travel and her determination to me.
She raised me with consistency so that I would have a good start in life.
She took care of René while I was in Nuremberg for six months at Siemens,
and she took René and Thomas on many trips.

For that, I am deeply grateful.

My mother has left her mark.
In our memories.
In our stories.
And in our hearts.

I will never forget her.