Iyah Dziekovskaya with her second husband Emil Levinson and his daughter Irina

This is me, Iyah Dziekovskaya, with my second husband Emil Levinson and his daughter Irina. This photo was taken in Odessa in 1998. We were walking in the town on a sunny summer day.

I met my second husband Emil Levinson in the Odessa Pedagogical College in 1963. There was admission of engineers to the third year of the Faculty of physics.  There was a demand for teachers of physics. We were good friends. He had a wife and two daughters: Lilia and Irina.  Emil was born to a Jewish family in Pervomaysk in 1935.  Emil lectured on physics in the Transport Technical School. We hadn't seen each other after finishing college in 1965. Almost 20 years later in 1982, I bumped into him on my way home from work.  It was raining and we had umbrellas. We stopped to talk. Emil's wife had died by then. Then he began to visit and call me. And we decided to live together. Later we got married. His daughters are very good to me. They thank me for living with their father. I reply: 'I feel good living with your father. He is so good. You don't have to thank me'.  Lilia and her family live in Karmi'el in Israel and Irina lives in Dresden. 

I've always liked history, and the history of our people is very interesting. Now I receive Jewish newspapers and magazines 'Or Sameach', 'Shomrey Shaboth' and 'Migdal'. I receive many other publications in the library of the Jewish center 'Migdal'. Jewish charity center Gemilut Hesed helps us a lot.  Now, when my husband and I are pensioners their food parcels are very supportive. We actually spend all our money on the apartment fees and  medications. I am an invalid of grade 2 due to diabetes and we receive medications per 30 hrivna per month. On Pesach we receive two packs of matzah. We have a very nice and caring curator Irina.  When Emil and I were in hospital she visited us there.  For almost a year a girl from Hesed cleans our apartment and takes our laundry to the Laundromat.  In autumn we were invited to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. It was very interesting.