On April 6, 2023, on the even of the feast of the Annunciation, Matushka Galina Tkaschow reposed in the Lord after a long illness. She was the matushka of Archpriest Nikolai Tkaschow, pastor of the Church of the Entrance of the Mother of God Into the Temple in Syracuse, New York.
Matushka was born in Germany in 1948, the daughter of Evdokia and Wasili Demidenko. The family immigrated to the United States in 1951 and settled in South River, New Jersey. They became active members of the parish of Saints Peter and Paul in South River. Galina joined the church choir at the age of twelve and also sang in the school chorus.
In 1963 she married Nikolai Tkaschow, who was subsequently ordained to the priesthood. The parish of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Erie, Pennsylvania became their first parish. Matushka joined the church choir. There they also started their family, eventually having six daughters and one son. There they also started making candles.
In 1974, the family was transferred to the parish of the Entrance of the Mother of God Into the Temple in Syracuse, New York. There also Matushka joined the church choir and sisterhood. With the blessing of Archbishop Averky, they embarked on acquiring the land where the current church was built as well as a church hall and a house for the priest and candle factory.
For many years, Father and Matushka donated the candles they made to the church during its construction and afterwards. She also did not take a salary for being the choir director for forty years.
On April 10, Great Monday, His Grace Bishop Luke of Syracuse presided at the funeral of Matushka Galina in the morning. Burial was at Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, New York and took place in the afternoon.
The brotherhood and seminarians of the monastery and seminary express their sympathy to our seminarian, Alexei Orloff, a grandson of Matushka and to Fr. Nikolai and the whole family on their great loss. May the memory of Matushka be eternal!
|  |
| |||||||||||
