Galina Mihailitchenko was born July 7, 1932, in Ukraine during the infamous Holodomor, during which more than five million Ukrainians starved to death as a result of Stalin’s plan to force Ukrainians to accept collectivization. Galina and her parents fled the Soviet Union during WWII and ended up in Denmark shortly before the war ended. When Galina was 16, she and her parents escaped from a Soviet controlled camp and emigrated to Argentina. Galina had three passions: First and foremost, she loved Jesus. Whether sharing about Jesus while sipping tea or blessing others with her amazing singing voice in church, Galina was passionate and always excited to share her Christian faith. Her second great passion was her family and friends. She deeply loved everyone in her family—especially her grandkids! She made friends with practically everyone she met, from people at church, to students and professors at her beloved Prairie Bible Institute, to total strangers she would meet at the grocery store or on the street. Galina had a vibrant, always excited personality. Her final passion was the Russian language and culture. She loved teaching people how to speak Russian and gave free Russian language lessons to PBI students and staff. Galina was involved in a letter writing ministry to Russian Christians in prison to encourage them in the Lord. Galina organized a town-wide clothing drive to help an orphanage in Ukraine. While in Argentina, Galina married Alexis Mihailitchenko, gave birth to their daughter, Liza, and they all emigrated to the United States. Later Galina and Alexis moved to Monaco as missionaries with Trans World Radio (TWR). Galina was involved with translation work and writing and recording radio programs. One popular program that Galina produced, called Dew Drops, was broadcast in Russian via shortwave radio by TWR into the Soviet Union from the Monaco location. Galina spoke seven languages fluently. In 1974, Galina and her daughter, Liza, moved to Three Hills to allow Liza to attend Prairie Bible Institute. Galina fell in love with PBI and the people of Three Hills and lived there for the rest of her life. Galina is survived by her daughter, Liza Black (Mark); brother Peter Trozan (LeAnne) and grandchildren Nina Smith, Alek Black, Natasha Smith, Anastasia Lenske, Viktor Black and Danek Black. Nephews: Andy Trozan and Paul Trozan. Galina went to rejoice with her Lord on November 4, 2022, at the age of 90. A memorial service celebrating Galina’s life will be held on Friday December 2nd, 2022 at 3:00 pm at Prairie Tabernacle. Reception will follow. The family requests that instead of flowers, any memorial gifts be made to one of Galina’s favorite organizations: Russian Christian Radio Ministry (www.RCRM.org), or Prairie Bible Institute.
