Lubov (Luba) Grishaev Gural

Lubov (Luba) Grishaev Gural, born c. July 5, 1936, in Vitebsk Oblast, Belarus, died Tuesday, July 1, in Worcester, embraced by her daughters, Alexandra Gural-Karageorgos (Wilbraham, Mass.) and Natasha Gural-Maiello (New York, NY), her grandson, Michael Alexander Gural-Maiello (NY, NY), and her son-in-law, Michael Gural-Maiello (NY, NY). Born a prisoner of Stalin, Luba's three brothers (Pyotr, Ivan, and Mikhail) died in infancy, and she spent her early childhood in prison camps in Belarus and Poland with her late parents, Alexandra Dimitrievna and Grigory Ustinovich Grishaev. She came to the U.S. from a displaced persons camp in Hanover, Germany, in 1950, graduating from Stevens High School in Claremont, NH, and earning scholarships to American International College, where she earned master's degrees in business administration and education. Luba enjoyed a variety of careers, working in executive roles at The Wall Street Journal, Springfield Fire & Marine Insurance Co., and Sunshine Art Studios, and she taught business at Minnechaug Regional High School. A masterful mezzo-soprano, Luba performed with ecumenical choirs and appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Luba is predeceased by her husband, Prof. Michael William "Brother Mike" Gural. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, Enfield, Conn. She will be buried alongside her parents and husband at Holy Trinity Monastery Cemetery in Jordanville, NY. Otpevanie at 10 a.m. on July 4.