Lilija Lazdins' Obituary
Lilija Lazdins, 85 of Grand Haven, died June 23, 2007. She is survived by three sons, Juris (Christina) of Woodbine, Maryland, and Valdis (Inara) and Peter (Rita) of Grand Haven; a sister, Elizabeth, of Grand Rapids; and four grandsons and four granddaughters. Her husband, Miervaldis, died May 8, 2007.
Lilija was born February 16, 1922, in Birinos, Latvia to Gvido and Elizabete (Segen) Gailitis. She attended the University of Latvia and studied pharmacology; however, her schooling was interrupted by World War II. Threatened with deportation to Siberian slave labor camps, she fled Latvia with her family in 1944 to escape the Soviet occupation. For a short time she worked as a pharmacist’s assistant in Prague until that city was overrun by the communists. Eventually her family made it to western Germany and a displaced persons camp in the American Occupation Zone. There, in the Wurzburg, Germany DP Camp, she met and married Miervaldis Lazdins on August 5, 1947. They eventually immigrated to the United States in 1949 and settled in Grand Haven in 1950. She loved the area and especially Lake Michigan because it reminded her of the Baltic Sea. Lilija worked downtown at Baas’ Men’s Store and the Country House as a tailor for many years until she retired.
Lilija was an avid gardener, a gourmet cook, and loved to sew and knit. She also enjoyed downhill and cross country skiing and traveled extensively with her family. Lilija and her husband loved to ballroom dance. She sang in the Latvian choir in Grand Rapids for over thirty years. She was active in the Latvian community and in the local Latvian church. Lilija had a wonderful and eventful life and will be missed by her family and friends throughout the world.
There will be a memorial service in Latvian for Lilija at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, June 30, 2007, at the Lee Chapel of Lake Forest Cemetery with Rev. Ilze Goforth officiating. Friends may meet the family 5-8 p.m. Friday, June 29, at VanZantwick Bartels Kammeraad Funeral Home in Grand Haven. Memorial contributions may be made to the Latvian Center Garezers, 57732 Lone Tree Rd., Three Rivers, MI 49093. Share memories with the family at their online guest book at www.vbkfuneralhome.com.
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