Klavdia Yvonne Shevkuta

SHEVKUTA, Klavdia Yvonne - Age 101, passed away peacefully in Sonoma on March 3, 2008. She was born on September 28, 1906 to Ivan and Elena Boronion in the small village of Boktamir, which is 60 miles south of Astrakhan, Russia and in between both the Volga River and the Caspian Sea. She was the eldest of eight children, five girls and three boys. Her father was a fisherman and her mother a homemaker. Her early childhood seemed to be picture perfect, but as politics and the revolution rippled through Russia, things got very difficult for Klavdia. Her family lost most of their possessions and with Typhoid, Cholera and Small Pox, she lost her siblings and her mother. Her father was overseas and she did not know where he was or even if he was alive. She was living with various relatives for years and finally ended up living with the village priest and his family. When Klavdia was about sixteen years old, she received a letter from her father. He was living in the United States and he wanted her to come live with him. Just days before her eighteenth birthday, with her small village bidding her farewell, alone, she took a boat toward Moscow. On her birthday, she got on a train, the first one she had ever seen, for a four month ride. This was the Trans Siberian Railway. With much good fortune she ended that portion of her long journey in Harbin, China, which, at that time, had a large Russian population. Her father arranged for her to meet another family who were having two daughters also travel to the United States to meet her there. In Harbin, Klavdia resided for several months in order to obtain Chinese Citizenship. The United States was taking very few Russian citizens at the time and this seemed a better way to get to their final destination. After obtaining the proper papers, Klavdia and the other two girls proceeded by train across the remainder of China and then by boat to Japan. From Japan they sailed for eighteen days on the Sibera Maru to San Francisco. She spent her first day in America on May 25, 1925 on Angel Island. Three days later, she surprised her father in Roseville. Once there, she was soon introduced to her future husband, John Shevkuta, by her father (the two men met on the boat coming to the United States), was married within a year. Within the following year, she gave birth to her only child and daughter on her twenty-first birthday. She lived most of her life in San Francisco and worked in the garment industry as a presser for many years. Klavdia was exceptionally proud to have become a United States citizen in 1937. For many years she had a vacation home in Guerneville that the family used frequently. Klavdia was an excellent seamstress who loved to garden and grow vegetables, and to hunt down a bargain at a nearby garage sale. On Russian holidays, she cooked and baked the requisite Russian foods and pastries, in the old fashioned way. Her recipes will go with her as her way of measuring ingredients were her own. She was a huge 49er fan when "Joe" (Montana) was on the team. She was always there to take care of her grandchildren, great grandchildren and great, great grandchildren. Along with her daughter, Riya, she has four grandchildren: James, Victoria, Riya and John; six great grandchildren: Robert, Kristina, Alicia, Siobhan, John and Glenna; and two great great grandchildren: Seamus and Kaileigh. A graveside service was held previously at the Serbian Cemetery in Colma. Memorial Donations in her honor can be made to the charity of the donor's choice. The family wishes to extend sincere thanks to the entire staff at the London House Health Care Center for their exemplary care of Klavdia in the twilight of her life. Arrangements are under the direction of DUGGAN'S MISSION CHAPEL.