A Como neighbor brought in this Star Tribune obituary about a fellow Como-ite. We've included an excerpt and a link to the whole article about Valentyna's long and interesting life.



By Mary Jane Smetanka, Star Tribune

Excerpt -

"The Ukrainian-American's instincts and education helped her overcome hardship in her homeland and become a force in her ethnic community in Minneapolis.

Even as a teenager in the Ukraine, Valentyna Yermolenko had a survivor's instincts. Adults who heard her sing urged her to study opera. She chose architecture, a practical field that might protect her in a Stalinist country where sometimes people disappeared and were never seen again. The scrappy Yermolenko eventually talked her way across Europe and to the United States. She died at age 98 on Aug. 10 in Minneapolis, blind but still sharp and witty. . . ."