Tamara Lvovna Portnova

Tamara Lvovna Portnova (August 27, 1922-December 7, 2021)

Tamara Portnova passed away on December 7, 2021 at the age of 99. She was born in Moscow, USSR, in 1922, the daughter of Lev Vladimirovich Portnov and Anna Nicolaevna Kochanova. She had a sister, Svetlana Lvovna, and a younger brother Volik, who died in infancy.

She is survived by daughter Svetlana Barber, son-in-law, Daniel Barber, grandchildren Katherine, Elizabeth, and Andrew. She was a devout Christian who adored her grandchildren and devoted her life to them.

As a young woman, she studied English and piano in Moscow, and for many years taught English in Moscow. She also interpreted for many notable persons and organizations, including Indira Ghandi, prime minister of India, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Joffrey Ballet Company.

Tamara had a remarkable life. When she was just 21 years old, she was arrested and sent to the infamous Lubyanka political prison in Moscow, USSR, during Stalin's reign of terror in Russia. After 9 months in prison, Tamara was exiled to Siberia without any charge or trial. In Siberia, she was assigned to work at a plant construction site. Her job was to bring barrels of asbestos to the workers. Later, she was moved to another city in Siberia where she managed to
get a job teaching music to children - she loved it! Tamara was very well educated, enjoyed the fine arts and was a true lover of classical music. She could always correctly identify the composer and piece played on the radio – it was remarkable. She was not a singer, but she could hum and knew the lyrics to every famous opera.

She always had a friendly smile on her face that drew people to her, old and young alike. Tamara volunteered at Gordon DeWitt elementary school in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio where she read books to children at the library. She also worked as an election worker at Sutliff I where she was a beloved resident for many years.