Obituary for Galina Aleksandrovna Hazanoff McLaws
Galina Aleksandrovna Hazanoff McLaws, 92, of Bloomington, died on March 28, 2021, at her residence at Bell Trace. She was born in Harbin, Manchuria. Her parents, Alexander and Nina Hazanoff, immigrated to Manchuria after the Russian Revolution. The family moved to China, first to Shanghai and later to Tianjin. Galina remembered when the Japanese marched into Tianjin in 1937.
In 1947, Galina married John “Jack” McLaws, a corporal in the U.S. Army. He died in Korea in 1953.
Galina became a U.S. citizen in 1950 and living in Rochester, Minnesota at the time. She later moved to Minneapolis and studied at the University of Minnesota. In 1959, she was hired to teach at Indiana University’s Slavic Summer Workshop and subsequently joined the faculty of the Slavic Department. She earned a bachelor’s degree from IU in 1961 and a master’s degree in 1963.
A teacher beloved by her students, Galina took pride in having taught at IU for 38 years. She especially enjoyed serving on the faculty of the Slavic Summer Workshop. An accomplished author, Galina published handbooks on Russian verbal prefixes and verbal morphology and was also the author of 12 learning modules of Russian which were grammar published in the 1990s. Galina led several student groups to the former USSR, and visited Russia again in 2014, rejoicing in the improved standard of living she observed for the Russian people. Galina also visited Shanghai in 2011, recalling many of her childhood memories. She was a member of Psi Iota Xi philanthropic sorority.
Galina was a founding member of All Saints Orthodox Church and served on various church committees over many years, beautifully maintaining the grounds and influencing the direction and development of this sacred property for generations to come. An ardent gardener, she was a member of the Green Thumb Club and served as its secretary. After her move to Bell Trace, she resumed painting watercolors and exhibited her works at the Bell Trace gallery in 2017. Many fortunate fellow parishioners and friends received a watercolor painting as a gift from Galina, or purchased one of her handcrafted gift cards from the church book store. A true Renaissance woman, Galina was an avid reader, a mah jongg master, a lover of theater and ballet, and a caring friend.
Both of Galina’s brothers preceded her in death. She is survived by her nephew, Michael (Diane) Hazanoff, of Wentworth North, Quebec, as well as close friends and a parish full of folks whose love and admiration she easily secured. and who eagerly claim her as family.
Galina will be remembered as a strong, tender, joyful, kind, and pragmatic survivor, a creative spirit who had a great love for people and a greater love for God. Though Galina had strong and well-formed views on many areas of life, she was particularly passionate and intent on seeing the construction of a traditional Orthodox temple in Bloomington, and served on the Building Committee of All Saints. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Building Fund of All Saints Orthodox Church at 6004 S. Fairfax Road Bloomington, Indiana in her honor.
The Funeral Chapel of Powell and Deckard in Bloomington is handling arrangements, and all services, as well as Galina’s burial, will be held at All Saints Orthodox Christian Church.
Visitation will be from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 and 9:00 AM until 10:00 AM on Wednesday.
The funeral will be at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, followed by burial and a meal of mercy.
Galina will be interred in the church cemetery next to her mother.
In 1947, Galina married John “Jack” McLaws, a corporal in the U.S. Army. He died in Korea in 1953.
Galina became a U.S. citizen in 1950 and living in Rochester, Minnesota at the time. She later moved to Minneapolis and studied at the University of Minnesota. In 1959, she was hired to teach at Indiana University’s Slavic Summer Workshop and subsequently joined the faculty of the Slavic Department. She earned a bachelor’s degree from IU in 1961 and a master’s degree in 1963.
A teacher beloved by her students, Galina took pride in having taught at IU for 38 years. She especially enjoyed serving on the faculty of the Slavic Summer Workshop. An accomplished author, Galina published handbooks on Russian verbal prefixes and verbal morphology and was also the author of 12 learning modules of Russian which were grammar published in the 1990s. Galina led several student groups to the former USSR, and visited Russia again in 2014, rejoicing in the improved standard of living she observed for the Russian people. Galina also visited Shanghai in 2011, recalling many of her childhood memories. She was a member of Psi Iota Xi philanthropic sorority.
Galina was a founding member of All Saints Orthodox Church and served on various church committees over many years, beautifully maintaining the grounds and influencing the direction and development of this sacred property for generations to come. An ardent gardener, she was a member of the Green Thumb Club and served as its secretary. After her move to Bell Trace, she resumed painting watercolors and exhibited her works at the Bell Trace gallery in 2017. Many fortunate fellow parishioners and friends received a watercolor painting as a gift from Galina, or purchased one of her handcrafted gift cards from the church book store. A true Renaissance woman, Galina was an avid reader, a mah jongg master, a lover of theater and ballet, and a caring friend.
Both of Galina’s brothers preceded her in death. She is survived by her nephew, Michael (Diane) Hazanoff, of Wentworth North, Quebec, as well as close friends and a parish full of folks whose love and admiration she easily secured. and who eagerly claim her as family.
Galina will be remembered as a strong, tender, joyful, kind, and pragmatic survivor, a creative spirit who had a great love for people and a greater love for God. Though Galina had strong and well-formed views on many areas of life, she was particularly passionate and intent on seeing the construction of a traditional Orthodox temple in Bloomington, and served on the Building Committee of All Saints. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Building Fund of All Saints Orthodox Church at 6004 S. Fairfax Road Bloomington, Indiana in her honor.
The Funeral Chapel of Powell and Deckard in Bloomington is handling arrangements, and all services, as well as Galina’s burial, will be held at All Saints Orthodox Christian Church.
Visitation will be from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 and 9:00 AM until 10:00 AM on Wednesday.
The funeral will be at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, followed by burial and a meal of mercy.
Galina will be interred in the church cemetery next to her mother.