Victor B. Umanov

Victor B. Umanov was born August 3, 1946 to Boris and Maria Umanov in Samara, Russia. He departed this life on November, 8, 2016 in Montezuma.

Boris and Maria along with their children moved to the Ukraine in 1954. Life as a child and youth were very difficult for Victor. 

In October of 1969, Victor married Maria Ghruink. Two children, Oleg and Svetlana, were born to them. Those years were the happiest of Dad’s life. Later, when our Mom battled leukemia for three long years, Dad tried to juggle his job, keep the house, take care of us children plus make visits to the hospital. Mom passed away on January 30,1985. The last several years of Mom’s life and her death were, in some ways, the death of our family’s togetherness and happiness. 

Dad married Vera Galuha on August 18, 1985. Sometime during the next year or two, Dad accepted Christ and was baptized into a conservative Baptist Church. It was a positive switch from atheism to Christianity. He always enjoyed reading his Bible and faithfully prayed but due to circumstances and his upbringing, he found staying faithful to be challenging throughout the rest of his life. To that union, a son, Boris was born.

Our immediate family moved to America in December of 1990. The Mennonites in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania were a great help getting us settled in our new country. Over the next three years, to Dad’s disappointment, our family went their separate ways. He decided to move to Brooklyn, New York where he found work and friends among his own people. Living in the large city felt more like home to him. When he retired, he moved to Palm Coast, Florida to live in a Russian community. 

Left to mourn are his wife, Vera of Brooklyn, New York; three children, Oleg Umanov of Redding, Pennsylvania, Lana Yost and husband Amos of Montezuma, and Boris Umanov of Brooklyn, New York; one sister, Luda Zhdanov and husband Gareke, of Brooklyn New York; one brother Arcadia Umanov of Lviv,Ukraine; and two grandchildren, Nadya and Dema of Montezuma. He was preceded in death by his wife, Maria, and his parents.

Funeral service will be held at Montezuma Mennonite Church on Friday November 11, 2016 at 10:30 AM with Ministers Donald Koehn, Stanley Wiggers, and Kalvin Salsbury presiding. Burial will follow at Montezuma Mennonite Cemetery. Visitation will be at Swaim Funeral Chapel, Montezuma on Thursday November 10, 2016 from noon to 5:00 PM. Thoughts and memories may be shared in the online guest book at www.swaimfuneralhome.com.