Syra Bulgarin Ginocchio

LAKEVILLE — Syra Bulgarin Ginocchio, a longtime resident of Lakeville, died on March 21, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz., her home for the past 26 years. She was the widow of John Ginocchio, with whom she shared many beautiful years in their beloved Connecticut. She was 97.She was born in 1916 to Alexandra and Alexander Soboleff (whose military career started at the St. Petersburg, Russia, Naval Academy). When the Bolsheviks won, the family moved to Estonia, where Syra spent her happy youth and attended Pallas Art Academy. She married Nikolai Bulgarin in 1938; they had two daughters. When the Nazis invaded Estonia in 1941, her husband was conscripted into the Soviet Army; she never saw him again. Germany had occupied all Baltic countries. In 1944, Syra escaped the Communist takeover of Estonia with her mother and two small daughters, going by boat to Danzig. When World War II ended, she chose the protection of UNRRA (United Nations Relief Rehabilitation Act), which ran numerous refugee camps in the American zone. The family remained in DP camps for five years. They immigrated to the United States in 1950 under the sponsorship of many generous people, including the citizens of Salisbury. Some people may remember their arrival and first American meal at the Ragamont Inn. She married John Ginocchio in 1957 and lived in Lakeville for 38 years. Both she and John worked at Community Service. For 20 years she was a restorer of fine art at the Fudali Gallery in Lakeville, but foremost she was an amazing artist, expressing herself in various media, from oil to needlepoint. Many people in this community had portraits painted by her. When she and John moved to Arizona in 1988, her peaceful New England landscapes gave way to desert and mountain views.Syra will be remembered as a brave and talented woman as she adapted to each new opportunity and challenge in her life. She is survived by two daughters, Marina “Mia” Bulgarin Gay of Tucson and Vassilissa “Issi” Bulgarin de Marcken of Limal, Belgium; six grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. Her grandson, Jay de Marcken, moved to Lakeville from Belgium. Syra’s life has been lovingly recorded by her daughter, Mia; the book “Syra’s Odyssey” is available at the Scoville Library. A gravesite service for family and friends will be held Friday, April 18, at noon in the Salisbury Cemetery. Her ashes will be buried with John’s, next to her mother’s grave. He died in 2007.