David Zaslavsky

David (Devik) Abramovich Zaslavsky, of Brookline, Massachusetts passed away on Monday, June 12th 2023 at the age of 89. He was born in Kremenchug, Ukraine on November 13th 1933 to Abram Abramovich Zaslavsky and Rakhil (Rita), Lvovna Zaslavsky (Kleidman). Married to Pasha Zaslavsky (Chernyak) - the love of his life for 66 years. David served in the Soviet Navy for close to 4 years, and worked as an optician all his life - a master craftsman. Immigrated to the US in 1989 from the Soviet Union (Ukrainian Republic) and became a US citizen in 1996. He had a magnetic smile, a warm and giving heart. An avid sports fan of hockey and European football, he loved the company of others - sharing moments with family and friends. Family, love, and friends was always his number one focus. Survived by loving wife Pasha Zaslavsky, daughter Alla Polnar and son-in-law Alex Polnar, grandsons Jack Polnar and Dan Polnar, granddaughters in law Melissa Polnar and Bethany Polnar, great-granddaughters Samantha Polnar, Anya Polnar and Lily Polnar, great-grandsons Henry Polnar and Sean Polnar. David loved his family with all his heart and his memory is a true blessing.

In loving memory of David Zaslavsky

David (Devik) was born in Kremenchug, Ukraine on November 13th 1933 to Abram Abramovich Zaslavsky and Rakhil (Rita), Lvovna Zaslavsky (Kleidman), and as a child David grew up in Krasnyi Luch. His mother Rita comes from a big family, and David had a lot of cousins growing up including Leka and Alec who he holds dear in his heart. When David was 8, he experienced something no child should go through - a world war. His classroom was interrupted by the sounds of falling bombs and air raid sirens. When the war front advanced to Krasiny Lutch in September 1941, his mother Rita was able to get seats for the evacuation train with the help of his father who was in the military and his mother’s friend in the government. The journey was something that an 8 year old should never experience. Having to switch trains on a bombed out train station and being exposed to gruesome scenes of suffering and death, David was separated from his mother. By miracle he was able to reunite with her navigating through crowds of refugees, and they were able to continue their journey. During the war they lived in central Asian Soviet Republics. His daily life was no longer that of a 9 year old child, but an adult providing food for his family. One such task involved going to the training ranges after the soldiers left, to collect shells and casings from ammunition to trade for food the next day, an incredibly dangerous task. It is also at this age that David was exposed to antisemitism, his name pointed to his Jewish heritage, he learned quickly that he needs to stand up for himself, he learned how to fight to protect himself and his family. His father often wrote to him from the front, and his mother was always there to provide love and how to take care of oneself. David loved his parents and very fondly remembered his upbringing in such a difficult time in history.

After the war, David and his family moved to Kharkov, Ukraine, and had to start over as they had nothing. They lived in a basement of a communal living apartment on Pushkinskaya Street and it is here that the imprint of his mother Rita who was very kind and giving, who had nothing, yet would still share and support her large family. In 1951 David finished high school (10th grade) and enrolled in technical school. It was then that he met his future wife Pasha Chernyak, it was love at first sight for him. However his schooling was cut short as he was drafted into the Soviet Navy in 1953. He served in the Northern Fleet, being exposed to harsh hazing by dedovshchina and antisemitism, he had to rely on what he learned from the war as a child, being strong and protecting himself, in fact, he was always proud of his name -David Abramavich and was never afraid to hide his heritage. He also learned discipline and how to support himself working in the supply division, how to build connections with people, and ofcourse the love and dangers of the northern sea, and the beauty of the north wilderness.

Returning back from the Navy in 1957 David studied at the school of medical opticians in Kharkov and got his first job as an apprentice of optics, he later became a master optician. Even more importantly it was at this time that David and Pasha were married on December 15th 1957. David’s magnetic smile, along with the confidence and uniform of a Navy Sailor and that he was Jewish were all the things that Pasha held dear. After marriage he moved in with Pasha’s large family on Chebotarskaya street.

David was a family man all the way - his mother in law Nucya adored him - that’s probably a great place to start! On February 17th 1959, his one and only daughter Alla was born to Pasha and David.

David absolutely adored and idolized Alla, showering her with fatherly love, and never disciplined her. There was one exception, when she asked for something he couldn't get for her, lemon slice candy. And that became a memorable episode in our family lore, recalled often at holidays and get-togethers. When Alla got sick and lost hearing in one ear due to flu complications, there was no limit to David’s efforts in searching for doctors and medications. He took her to the best specialists, and he kept doing it all through his life. He was a caring father and did everything he could to ensure his daughter's well-being.

David’s family often took vacations to Crimia and Latvia, and he would always take Alla’s cousins Sofa and Sveta who he loved dearly. Sofa, who resides currently in Kharkov fondly remembers her uncle David and considers him like a father. They have not seen each other since 1989 yet, he would often call her and check in on her and even help support her and share his wisdom when he could without request. David lost his father Abraham at a very young age of 35, this had a profound impact on David, in that family must always be a priority.

David was very social, he enjoyed family and friend gatherings and would often organize these. He would of course also have a hang-out buddy for such events. His best friend in Kharkov, Arkadiy considered him as an older brother. Their families became close and of course it’s good to have a friend who is an optician, wife Pasha who is a “prarab” (construction manager) and a friend who is a butcher in the Soviet Union! Their friendship spanned the ocean, when both David and Arkadiy moved to the US, although they resided in different cities, David would often visit Arkadiy in New York City, along with his cousins Leka and Alec, vodka distilleries had to work very hard for those visits to keep stock! “We wish his soul a light journey, he has someone who will greet him there, we will always keep memories of our get-togethers” wished Alec and his family.

In the mid 1970s David became a medical optician and team leader at the Optometry on Pushkinskaya street. He was not only excellent at his craft, he was also very personable and built many connections, this was important in the Soviet Union, to feed and provide for your family, you can’t go by just your salary. Sofa recalls when on a shopping trip with David, he knew everyone, and they knew him, and he could get the best deals. At work, David had a core group of pals, and many conversations have been had over lunchtime vodka at their favorite “zabegalofka”.

In early 1970s, along with his wife Pasha, his mother Rita and daughter Alla moved into a two bedroom apartment on Oddeskaya, considered luxury for the time. In 1979 Alla married Alex. When Alex moved in to live with David and Pasha, he was amazed by the type of food they had and how well they lived by Soviet standards. There were things on the family table that he had never seen, like dry salami and caviar and at one point even a pineapple, they had no idea how to open it! David and Alex would watch many sporting events, and Alex recalls how passionately David would root for their teams, as if he was at the stadium yelling at the TV.

In some instances he would mimic how to pass the ball, shoot the puck or throw a punch to show the player on the TV how to do it. David and Pasha were surrounded by friends and family, holding many family dinners, including celebrating New Years and jewish holidays.

On October 23rd 1979 Alla and Alex had their first son Igor (Jack). This was David’s first grandson, who he adored as if he was his own son. Jack’s earliest memories (maybe when he was 3) was when David would wake him up in the morning with light shining bright, saying the word “patagusi” which vaguely means stretch my little one, and David would call Igor “Solnishka” which means little sunshine. David would walk Igor to elementary school, holding his sweaty little hand. He would shower him with love and together with Pasha they would take him on family vacations to Yevpatoria, Crimea and Jurmala, Latvia - the overnight train rides were better than any ride at an amusement park. Although Igor did believe in Ded Moroz (Russian Santa Claus), the real Ded Moroz, unknown to Igor, was David. Every year, under the New Year’s tree, Igor would find what he wished for all year, a toy railroad set, and every year there was one even grander than the one from years before. On May 2nd 1987 after waking up Igor, David said, “it’s someone’s birthday today guess who?” Igor could not figure it out, and David said - “your baby brother Vadik (Dan) was born today.” Jack fondly recalls this time in his childhood as just pure magic.

The 80s were mixed for David, on one hand he gained two grandsons and quit smoking. It was also a time when he lost his mother Rita in 1981. In 1989 the family faced one of the toughest decisions of their life. Enduring years of antisemitism, there was an opportunity to move to the United States, however that required giving up everything David’s family worked for all their lives, including the soviet citizenship and all their possessions, they would be traitors to the Soviet Union and refugees without guarantees of even being admitted into the United States. This was an incredibly hard decision for David and Pasha, who were well off by Soviet standards, including having to give up their retirement savings, housing and letting go of their many friends and extended family. However for Pasha and David, being with their daughter and their grandsons was more important than anything, and so they gave up everything they had - the family packed 12 suitcases and a few hundred dollars worth of funds, what they were allowed to take, and began their journey to the United States. Although Jack remembers a “vacation in Italy for 7 months” David’s family endured much hardship and unknowns, they scraped by for food, lived in a cramped apartment and faced many constant unknowns. The stress resulted in David developing type 2 diabetes with which he battled the rest of his life. However, for Jack and Dan the magic continued, - a kinder-egg treat once every now and then. The family knew how to shield their children from hardships of immigration.

On October 23rd 1989 David’s family journey to the United States was complete as they arrived in Boston, the family had minimum English and $1,500 dollars for 6 people to settle down. Just like after World War 2, David and family again lived in the basement - on Brainerd road in Brighton - starting all over. They collected furniture which was left on the street, and purchased dented cans, stale bread and dated vegetables. David’s mastery as an optician allowed him to be the first in the family with a job in a recession economy with minimal language, his hands did the talking.

He commuted for over an hour on the green line to the Leechmere Galleria in Cambridge, working at Eye World for low wage in the very early 1990s - he was able to support his family - something he was incredibly proud of. They were able to save up a bit more and move to a nice one bedroom apartment on Dean Road in Brookline overlooking the park which Pasha loved. Just like his mother Rita, David was always generous to his family, and more importantly spoiled his grandson Jack with a Nintendo video game system, which was $100- a very expensive gift at the time for a family which barely had money for food. With Jack’s parents working many long hours in those early years, Jack ended up living with David and Pasha for a couple of years in their Brookline apartment, it was still all magic, the cans of food were no longer dented, and there was an occasional new video game cartridge for the Nintendo.

David and Pasha became proud US citizens in 1996, and when David retired, both he and Pasha moved to 112 Centre Street in Brookline, where they lived for decades. They continued to gather family around the dinner table at holidays and on the weekends, lavish their grandsons with gifts, and proudly watch them graduate from high school, then college and get married. David’s daughter Alla took on David’s profession as optometrist, and became just as successful if not more then her dad - something a father is always proud of. David was very kind to their neighbors at Centre Street. Marina Polyakov who is the resident services coordinator mentioned that “David was an iconic person, loved by many”. Taught by his mother Rita, and reinforced in the Navy, he kept his apartment spotless and incredibly organized, he loved walking to the neighborhood stores and was always very kind and giving to neighbors and the building maintenance folks. In his freezer you would often find a large stash of candy bars that he gifted to anyone who walked into his apartment, as well as a thank you to the doctors and nurses he visited in later years. He made a close friend Jora, his neighbor and among sharing many things, they always shared 50 grams of rum upon visit.

David always loved to travel even though Babushka was not fond of transportation. He made time with his grandson Dan to visit family in New York and visit the Statue of Liberty. He traveled with both grandsons and his granddaughter-in-law Melissa to the Caribbean on a cruise. Although critical at times, whether it be Dan's proficiency in Russian, his continued fitness journey, or his temper tantrum in New York demanding a gameboy with Pokemon on it... De was always loving.

In 2008 David and Pasha became great-grandparents, with Sammy (2008) and Anya (2011) from grandson Jack and his wife Melissa, and then from grandson Dan and his wife Bethany with Henry (2014) Sean (2016) and of course Lily (2020), whose smile he absolutely adores. David’s love knew no limits for his great-grand kids. Sammy and Anya would often visit David and Pasha on Saturday mornings along with Jack for the weekly breakfasts, and David was always prepared with bagels, cream cheese, smoked salmon and of course chocolate milk and kinder-eggs for the kids. Although language was sometimes a barrier, their love never knew it. Dan said of David: “We are privileged he got to know and love his 5 great grandchildren. His great grandsons were always excited to see him at family gatherings with his bright smile that put anyone in a great mood. We lost but will never forget our great father, grandfather, and great grandfather." Anya said the following about David “Pra-de was a kind heart and he always took care of me and my sister before he cared about himself. He will forever be in my heart.”

Sammy said the following: “Every time pra-de hugged me, he asked me if I was cold, and then he would offer his sweater to warm me up. The memories of having breakfast with Pra-de every weekend, kinder-eggs, mini-bagels and chocolate milk will always remind me of his love”

Just like every family, COVID brought much suffering to David and Pasha. Already dealing with old age, the isolation of 2020 was enormously tough to bear for not seeing their family in person. David was the primary care-taker for Pasha while now struggling to take care of himself. This became even harder when in 2021 Pasha had multiple falls and had to move to assisted living, David became even more isolated. David’s family rallied to care for him. Liana Khalafyan who was instrumental in David’s care mentioned that “David was such a nice person and a very kind human being.” The family along with David made sure to visit Pasha often, it was love again at first sight. Pasha would pull David in so hard to hug him, and hold his hand, and this re-embrace would play out every week as if it did not happen for years. They would reminisce about the old days over a slice of pizza and ice cream. They would say I love you in many ways, for example, Pasha would ask David which woman he is now living with, and that “I hate you, but do you still love me right?” with a wink. She would also tell David about how everyone at the “nursing home” finds her incredibly beautiful and why such a young person as herself could be living there, including a few resident gentlemen making passes at her. David would only smirk and laugh, and tell her, “ti durachka” (a playful way to say fool in Russian). But Pasha is no “durachka”, she knows what’s up. David was surrounded by women his whole life, his magnetic smile tamed his mother in law, and warmed the hearts of many. At the ripe age of 89 his smile and kind heart attracted the best support folks -who were all female ofcourse, to his apartment, and they provided amazing care. At a recent visit to the emergency room, David was sitting with a few very good looking young nurses at their station no less, and there was very a large, dentureless smile on his face. One of the nurse’s said to Jack, “you have a very cute grandpa!” However Pasha has nothing to worry about, David’s love for Pasha is absolute.

David was a fighter to the end, now living alone and seeing that unless he makes changes, he will end up in assisted living, freedom was very important to him. He made sure to follow everything that was suggested to continue living on his own and even when this was no longer suggested by everyone around him, he continued the fight, until he could literally no longer stand on his own. His last few days were filled with calm, yet quiet suffering. He absolutely enjoyed it when family came to visit him at assisted living a few times a week, and he cherished it. On Saturday June 10th, visiting his wife Pasha, along with Jack, Samatha and Anya, he was calm, smiling, giving out hugs and lovingly bickering with Pasha as always, nothing appeared to be wrong. Before we left, everyone exchanged hugs and kisses. That evening however his condition drastically changed. He was taken to the hospital, his body continued the fight, however he was now at peace. When his fever broke, David and Jack looked warmly into each other's eyes- Jack said, “dedushka, you are always with us, we love you” to which Dedushka replied with a peaceful smile “I know Solnishka, I love you too”. David loved his family with all his heart and our memory of him is a true blessing.