Lina Lavitsky

Lina Lavitsky, 30, of San Francisco, California passed away from brain cancer on the morning of Tuesday, June 14th, 2022. She died at home in the care of her husband, Matthew Milroy, and her parents, Anna and Ilya Lavitsky, with the assistance of hospice.

Lina was born on August 18th, 1991 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She immigrated with her parents to the United States in 1994, where they settled in San Francisco's Richmond District. There, she attended St. Monica School and Lowell High School, competed in rhythmic gymnastics, studied modern dance, and amassed a collection of MUNI bus tickets from her explorations of the city.

Lina moved east for college, earning her bachelor's degree in Applied Math/Economics from Harvard University, where she brightened her home of Quincy House and the campus at large with her laughter and sparkling presence. Outside of class, she danced with the Harvard-Radcliffe Modern Dance Company and Expressions Dance Company, participated in Smart Woman Securities and the Financial Analysts Club, and volunteered as a peer counselor.

In her sophomore year, Lina was awarded a competitive Citibank fellowship, and after several summer internships with the bank, she went to work as an analyst at Citi full-time, lending her talents to a number of desks. She then decided to apply her analytic brilliance to the public sector and began working at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where she was an invaluable asset to the Markets & Policy group. Lina treasured life-long learning, and she joined the Master of Information and Data Science program at UC Berkeley while continuing her full-time job.

Boundlessly generous and energetic, Lina dedicated her free time to volunteer work and a robust set of hobbies. She was a dance fitness instructor through the NYC Parks and Recreation's Shape Up program, a volunteer barista at the Housing Works Bookstore, and a member of the Park Slope Food Coop. She spent her evenings and weekends dancing, rock climbing, hiking, doing yoga, working in coffee shops, eating bagels and soup dumplings, and making New York her own. Among other events, she ran the New York City Marathon in 2016. She adored traveling and was always planning her next trip, both at home and abroad. With irresistible enthusiasm, she often brought her friends, family, and coworkers along on her many adventures.

She met the love of her life, Matthew Milroy, while working at the Federal Reserve. They loved talking for hours, exploring, rock climbing, and making a home together, first in Brooklyn, then in San Francisco. They were married on November 6th, 2021 at the Pelican Inn in Muir Woods, California, a few miles from where they were engaged.

Lina was a light to everyone who met her. From a young age, she was always a perfect child to her parents; even while living on opposite coasts, Lina could often be found on the phone with her mom, chatting animatedly in a mixture of English and Russian. As a spouse, she brought joy and happiness to Matt every single day. Kind and curious, unmatched in empathy and affection, always ready with infectious laughter, wise insights, or companionable silence, she was the ideal friend.

In March of 2020, Lina began treatment for a diffuse brain stem tumor at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, later moving home to California and transitioning her care to UCSF to be close to her family. She brought her characteristic tenacity and grit to bear, working hard throughout difficult treatments to remain positive and present for herself and her family and friends. Throughout her illness, Lina ceaselessly pushed herself to keep doing whatever she was capable of, making adjustments to keep enjoying the things she valued: walking with assistance when running wasn't possible, listening to audiobooks when reading wasn't possible, and finding countless ways to keep expressing her love even when communication was challenging.

Lina is survived by her husband, Matthew Milroy; her parents, Anna and Ilya Lavitsky; and her grandmother, Mina Vidrevich, as well as a loving extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins and a devoted group of friends.

In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting the Brain Tumor Research Fund at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Donations honoring Lina by name may be made at this link: www.bwhgiving.org/lavitsky

To share photos and memories of Lina, please visit: https://bit.ly/lavitsky