As you may have seen in the March newsletter, our dear sangha member and avid hiker Luba Pekisheva passed away last week after a struggle with cancer. 

Luba's wish was that her body be naturally buried or composted.

Unfortunately neither she, nor her remaining family, left her friends and supporters at Red Cedar Zen and Shir HaShalom Jewish Renewal Community with the resources to pay for such a burial.

If you feel so moved to help, the remaining funds in the GoFundMe created around Luba's end of life care will all go to the burial:

Luba was, for many years, an avid participant in Red Cedar's Wilderness Dharma Program, often flagging us down from her bicycle beside the highway for a ride as we headed toward the mountains. A Russian immigrant to the Northwest as a child, Luba came to love this part of the planet deeply. Although her poor eyesight prevented her from reading the sutras in our chant book, we will long remember her rapt and joyful face, looking upward, as she enjoyed the chanting towards the mountains and rivers of our home, and then her melodious voice joining us for our closing Gratitude to Nature dedication.

In her final weeks Luba was attended to at her home by Red Cedar members, and by members of the Shir HaShalom ("Song of Peace") Jewish Renewal Community of Bellingham group, of which she was also a member, as well as by her devoted mother Galena. Through these efforts Luba was able to spend her last days at home, with her beloved cats, which have now been adopted by a Red Cedar member. Luba's forthright insistence on natural treatments led to her, seemingly, to suffer much less in her final process than is commonly reported for her rare form of cancer.

She was an intelligent, compassionate, and politically aware person, who made her way in the world by helping others through Russian language medical interpretation. In her sickness she remained without self pity and brave, as only Luba could be.

Few funds exist to give Luba the green burial she wished for. The Beth Israel congregation of Bellingham has donated a burial plot, and a Red Cedar member is offering to build a casket to defray costs. It is still uncertain if funds will be enough to do the burial, or if a lower cost cremation will be all that can be afforded. Donations to help with these expenses can be made to Luba's GoFundMe.

GoFundMe - Helping with Luba's Funeral Expenses