Commemorations are extremely important for a Jewish soul. A person dies but his deeds and his name lives on through commemorations like this one. In particular this is a commemoration to a very brave and strong woman. As seen on the name plate her name is written out in Hebrew from left to right. In the Jewish world your last name does not matter, it’s the name of your parents that makes a difference. Specifically when a person dies he is referred to by his first name, son or daughter of and the father’s name. In this case the decedents name is Katya which is her secular name, Ktzia, which is her Jewish name, bat, which means daughter, Mazal Tov which is her fathers name.
Katya Ktzia was born at the turn of the twentieth century, her actual date of birth is unknown, but her deeds are very much known. She was born in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. She worked as a bread baker until World War II. During World War II she registered as a nurse and treated wounded soldiers. During the War years she took in a lot of homeless and hungry people to live with her in her home. She was the financial advisor for a synagogue in Samarkand. She kept to the Jewish laws through her whole life by eating kosher food, keeping Shabbat, and baking matza on Pesach which in Communist USSR was a crime punishable up to 10 years in prison. Katya Ktzia gave birth to 3 beautiful sons, 2 of which are twins. She immigrated to the U.S. in the early 90s and settled in Queens, New York. She kept the Jewish laws throughout her whole life, she died in 2013 after being paralyzed for 4 years. Her approximate age is 96.