Esfira “Fira” Ulanovskaya, 78, of Overland Park, Kansas, died on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023.
Funeral services were held on Aug. 9 at the Louis Memorial Chapel, 6830 Troost Ave. Burial was held at Rose Hill Cemetery.
Fira was born on Jan. 1, 1945, in Myrhorod, Ukraine, to the late Moishe Ulanovskiy and Leah (“Lisa”) Ulanovskaya. She graduated from School #106 in Odessa, Ukraine, in 1958 with her bachelor’s degree and married her husband, Viktor, in 1967. They recently celebrated 55 joyous years of marriage.
Fira was passionate about education and taught physics and math at School #106. She moved to the United States in May 1992 with her husband; daughter, Lisa; son-in-law, Boris; and granddaughter, Polina; and settled in Brooklyn, New York. She quickly found a community of other Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants and made lifelong friends. She and her husband moved to the Kansas City area in 2014 to be closer to their daughter, son-in-law and granddaughters.
Fira was an avid reader, lover of crossword puzzles and card games, and an excellent cook. She was kind-hearted and always had a smile on her face, ready to make a batch of her famous chicken noodle soup or lend an ear.
Fira loved plants and fresh-cut flowers and was even known to sing to her plants to “help them grow taller,” as she used to say. She relished spending time with her granddaughters, especially in helping her youngest granddaughter, Sophia, with her math homework. Fira enjoyed traveling the world with her family and visiting friends and relatives around the country. She was an active member of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.
She is survived by her loving husband, Viktor; daughter and son-in-law, Dr. Lisa Shnayder and Boris Naronov of Leawood, Kansas; and granddaughters Polina and Sophia. She will be deeply missed.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org. Online condolences may be left for the family at louismemorialchapel.com.