Maya Zelitsky's Obituary
Maya Zelitsky passed away on January 21, 2021 at age 88. She is survived by her daughter Marina Brunson, son Andrey Akopov, granddaughter Katia Brunson and grandson Nick Brunson.
Maya was born on April 24, 1932 in Novosibirsk, Russia, to Alexander and Vera Zilberstein. She graduated from Novosibirsk music college with a major in vocale.
People who knew Maya described her as having a spark and being full of life. Before coming to the U.S., she was the lead singer for a “big-band” orchestra, singing in the top Soviet-era clubs and restaurants of Moscow. She had a beautiful deep voice and always performed with great emotion and energy.
In the early ‘70’s, Maya managed to arrange two trips to Los Angeles to visit her cousin Anna. She was absolutely dazzled by the abundance and beauty of southern California, and after the second visit, Maya decided to emigrate to the U.S. with her two grown children. Unable to speak the language, it was not easy to start life in a new country, but she always managed to communicate even with her limited English.
Or her even more limited Italian, when they lived in Rome awaiting clearance to travel to America. To make money, she and her children sold coral necklaces, popular among Italians at the time, at a fleemarket in Rome. Maya was a hard worker and had a lot of hutzpah. She so impressed the Italian natives with her pitch, they bought tourist trinkets from her!
She loved her new home country and often pronounced with intention: “America is the best country in the world!”
Through her friends Maya met her second husband Alex Zelitsky and they married in Las Vegas in 1979. They had a good life together, traveling around the world, hosting dinner parties for their friends. After Alex passed away Maya ran their carwash business working long hours seven days a week. She was known in the area as a ‘carwash lady’.
She loved travelling, watching old American movies, and listening to classical music. She enjoyed people and was ready to engage in conversation anywhere she went; at the beach, in her neighborhood, her synagogue, and at the Encinitas YMCA (where she used to go every morning). In her most recent years, after she stopped driving and could not go to her synagogue, she started attending her daughter’s church every Sunday and felt welcomed there. Pastor Greg and his wife were even part of her last birthday party. For her, it was a relatively quiet affair on Zoom due to the pandemic.
Maya loved her children and grandchildren and is deeply missed by all her family, friends and neighbors.
What’s your fondest memory of Maya?
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Share a story where Maya's kindness touched your heart.
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