Shulim Dolgonos

Shulim Dolgonos, born in Uman, Ukraine on December 8, 1926, passed away on August 10, 2025 at the age of 98. His nearly century-long life was a testament to the strength of the human spirit, a story that might fill volumes but is best remembered in the courage and hope he carried every day.

At just 14 years old, as World War II came very much close to his hometown, Shulim made a choice that would shape the rest of his life: he ran away to fight. Too young to enlist, he lied about his age and alongside his school friend, joined the Soviet front against the advancing fascists. Before he could complete his military training, the front collapsed and he was told to run — to hide, to survive.

While his friend turned back for home, young Shulim kept running forward. He set out alone to find his older brother Boris studying medicine far away in Kuybyshev (now Samara). That decision saved his life. Everyone he left behind in Uman — his stepmom, his beloved little brothers David (13) and Yefim (2), his grandparents, his cousins and aunts, his friends, including the one that turned back — perished in Uman massacre on September 16, 1941 when the entire Jewish community of Uman, numbering approximately 24,000 people, was assembled at the edge of the town's airport and systematically murdered by German SS forces.

Shulim survived, and more than that, he lived. He endured hunger living off just one kilo of bread a day during his growth spur years while he worked at the factory that produced weaponry for the war. He followed Boris to Kiev after the war was over where he graduated from a Vocational High School and later college, earning MS Engineering degree at the end. He became a lead engineer at the one of the most prestigious engineering establishments in Ukraine specializing in designing nuclear power stations, including some stations abroad.

But most importantly Shulim built a family, a home, and a legacy that stands today as proof that evil could not claim him — nor his future. He carried with him the memories of those he lost and the lessons of what it means to stand up, to keep moving, and to believe in tomorrow even when the world burns.

He is predeceased by his wife Zinaida (d. 2024). Shulim is survived by his only son Michael and his wife Irina, by his two grandchildren, Alex and Dina — who both made him so proud, and by Alex’s wife Beth. And by his two little great-grandsons, Adrian and Sebastian, who will grow up hearing about their great-grandfather’s courage and the life he fought so hard to protect.

His family invites all who knew him to celebrate a life that reminds us what it means to endure — and to never forget.

Graveside service will take place on Thursday, August 14th, 2025, 10:00am at Beth Abraham Cemetery. Located 617 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick, NJ 08816. Arrangements are by The Crabiel Home for Funerals, 170 North Main Street - at Riva Avenue, Milltown.  You may sign the online guestbook at www.crabiel.com