Polina Cherkasova

Our beloved Mother, Polina Cherkasova entered eternal life on June 24, 2022, at the age of 86. The daughter of Fedor N. Grebyenyuk and Maria Gladihevskaya, she was born on December 16, 1935, in the Savran Region of the Odessa District in Ukraine. The oldest of two daughters, kind and caring Polina, together with her younger sister Valentina and their mother, lived through the horrors of five years of WWII, while their father went away to fight the enemy. She endured many years of collectivization and oppression under communism. In 1953, she moved to Odessa to work as a secretary and a stenographer for an international furniture trading company. In 1955, she married Mikhail (Terzeman) Cherkasov, who died on May 4, 2012. The couple were happily married for 57 years, and had three children together: daughter Ludmila, son Fedir and the youngest son Slava. While still under communism and as a part of the Soviet Union, Ukraine's government was hostile to Christians, and especially to Protestants. Polina, a devout Pentecostal Christian, immigrated to the United States in April of 1991, to seek freedom from religious persecution and to join her daughter Ludmila, and settled in Traverse City. While enjoying peace and freedom of her new country, Polina worked for 10 years at an embroidery company in Traverse City.

Polina has always enjoyed travelling, getting to know cultures of other countries and meeting new people. She had many friends and a unique way of connecting with others, regardless of language barriers. She was a very compassionate human being who would think nothing of bringing a stranger in need into her home. She practiced her Christian faith by serving others either in Odessa or in Traverse City. While living in Odessa, she frequently cared for handicap and paralyzed neighbors and babysitting their children and performing burdensome household tasks for them. Those who had the privilege of knowing her in Traverse City would testify to her amazing gift from God of always knowing how and where to share what she had with the needy. Polina was an amazingly talented beekeeper and a gardener, eager to share her knowledge of nature and living things. She had a deep respect for farmers, resulting from her experience of growing up on a big farm until the age of 18 and observing her father's care for a garden and a fruit orchard. She had a "green thumb," and could even grow ginko biloba, kiwi fruit, etc.

Polina was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Mikhail Cherkasov. She leaves behind the following children and their families:

Daughter, Ludmila Terzeman

Son, (Fedir Cherkasov) Fred J. Shannon, daughter-in-law Tatyana Cherkasova and their daughter, Emily. Grandchildren: grandson Dmytro Cherkasov and his wife Valentina, and great-grandchildren Liliya, Diana, Samuel, Kristina, Sabina and Viola; granddaughter Maria Dreychan with her husband Alex, and great grandchildren Katie, Daniel, Veronika, and Angela; grandson Sergiy Cherkasov and his wife Galina, and great-grandchildren Ruvim, Jacob and Nathan; granddaughter Natalya Terzeman; grandson Dennis Cherkasov and his wife Irina, and great-grandchildren Zaria and Esther.

Son, Slava Terzeman.

The family would like to thank the staff of Hospice of Michigan for their compassionate care and to express their gratitude to the congregations of the Slavic Evangelical Church and the Traverse Bay Mennonite Church for their friendship and support over the last thirty years.

Relatives and friends may call on the family during a time of visitation from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. on Friday, July 8, 2022, at Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home, 305 Sixth Street, Traverse City, MI 49684.

A memorial service will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 9, 2022, at the Slavic Evangelical Church, 757 S. East Silver Lake Road, Traverse City, MI 49685. Immediacy following the service, Polina will be laid to rest in Grand Traverse Memorial Gardens. A dinner will be held at the church following the burial.

Those wishing to offer an expression of sympathy are encouraged to make a contribution to Slava and Ludmila Terzeman, 1231 Clinch Street, Traverse City, MI 49686.