Galina Kaplun's Obituary
Obituary of Galina Kaplun
Galina Kaplun, 92, was called into the eternal presence of her beloved Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on April 20, 2018.
Galina was born May 25, 1925 in Galatz (Galati), Romania.
She was predeceased by her father, Paul Korotkoff, her mother, Nina Korotkoff, and her husband, Felix Kaplun.
She is survived by her daughters, Esther (Tom) Knightly of Clearwater and Sylvia (David) Hancock of Oldsmar, along with grandsons Christian Knightly of Orlando and Ian Pierpoint of Holiday and granddaughter Caitlin Knightly of Sydney, Australia, and great grandsons Cameron Pierpoint and Colton Pierpoint of Largo, along with step granddaughters and step great granddaughters, numerous nieces and nephews and many friends.
Born to Russian immigrants in Galatz, Romania, Galina grew up speaking Russian at home, Romanian at school, and since the area had some Turkish immigrants, she learned to speak Turkish with some of the Turkish children in the community. Her father had a diesel engine business for farm equipment and she would sometimes translate for the Turkish customers who came in to order engines. Her mother taught Galina sewing and embroidery and thus her interest in crafts started at a young age. The family spent vacations in the Carpathian Mountains.
As Galina continued her schooling, her mother insisted that she take German as a foreign language. She couldn’t understand why her mother insisted on her learning German and somewhat resisted but she finally relented and kept up with her studies. As it turned out, the family ended up in Germany as refugees so speaking German was a great asset to her. She lived in Coburg, Germany where she completed high school and continued her interest in crafts. It was in Germany where she learned to bake beautiful German Tortes and blessed the family with them throughout the years. A family favorite was her Black Forest Cherry Torte. In 1948, the family immigrated to Canada under a family-sponsored immigration program and settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where she learned to speak English.
It was in 1948 at the German Baptist Mission Church in Winnipeg where he she met her husband, Felix. She recalled seeing him in Hanover, Germany in 1947. She agreed to go out with him and so their courtship began. After a major flood in Winnipeg in the spring of 1950, they waited for the water to recede and were married on June 10, 1950. God blessed them with two daughters; Esther born in 1954 and Sylvia born in 1960. A grandson (Christian) was added to their lives in 1983, a granddaughter (Caitlin) in 1988 and another grandson (Ian) in 1990. Two great grandchildren, Cameron (2008) and Colton (2013) were the most recent blessings.
Galina worked in a sewing factory during the early years of their marriage. She would knit and crochet in her spare time at home. She was active in the choir and Ladies Aid Society in her church. She had a heart for missions and would sew bandages and dressings for a medical mission in Africa that was supported by the church. She eventually became the leader of the Ladies Aid Society and under her leadership started annual bazaars to raise money for missions.
In 1962, when her husband, Felix, started his own camper trailer manufacturing company, Kaplun Enterprises, she took typing classes so she could assist by working in the office. She also took care of her parents by taking them to their doctor’s appointments, going grocery shopping and doing their laundry all while taking care of her home and two daughters. She found ways to bless her family and would sew clothes for her mother, children and herself. She was an excellent cook and made countless meals for her husband and family. Her husband favored the German food she cooked and her pierogies were a family favorite.
In 1976, the family relocated to Florida with Galina’s mother moving with them and she continued to take care of her mother. They joined a church in St. Petersburg and immediately became involved. In 1979, they moved to Clearwater and also spent time in their home in North Carolina to get away from the heat. Galina continued to expand her crafts and would sell them in shops in North Carolina and in Florida. She wanted to find a personal way to support missions so she decided to donate all the profits from the sale of her crafts to missions. In 1987, they built a new home in Palm Harbor. A diagnosis of breast cancer and removal of her breast did not deter her from her desire to continue to support missions.
In 1991, Felix decided he would try to find a way to help the people of Ukraine and Galina would sell crafts to raise funds to support their needs. She often traveled with Felix to Ukraine where she would see firsthand what the needs were in the orphanage that Felix had raised funds to build. When she saw that the orphanage needed a commercial clothes dryer, she raised the funds herself through the sale of her crafts to buy the appliance. She also knitted hats for the orphans to wear in the cold Ukrainian winters and taught the workers in the orphanage to make crafts as well.
Her kindness and patience were extraordinary along with her wit and sense of humor. While she will be greatly missed by family and friends, we are comforted in the knowledge that she is in the presence of her Savior. A funeral service will be held at Trinity Memorial Gardens, 12609 Memorial Drive, Trinity, FL 34655 on Saturday, April 28th at 2:00 PM. with interment at the cemetery on site.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Galina may be made to Breast Cancer Research Foundation, 60 East 56th Street, 8th Flood, New York, NY 10022.
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