Ludmilla Furman, 78: Seamstress who ‘put her family first’

Ludmilla “Luda” Furman, 78, from Ofakim, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in Sderot on October 7.

That Saturday morning, Luda was one of 13 Russian-speaking senior citizens who were heading toward the Dead Sea for a day trip.

The minibus carrying the passengers got a flat tire and stopped next to a bus station in Sderot in order to change it. The bus station also served as a bomb shelter which was supposed to electronically unlock when there were rocket sirens in the city. As they were standing outside, a rocket siren sounded in the city but the door malfunctioned, and the group of travelers were stuck outside.

Moments later, a pickup truck of Hamas terrorists drove by and opened fire on the group, killing all 13 passengers. Photos of the slain senior citizens strewn on the ground were among the first to circulate in Israel and around the world of the Hamas atrocities that day. Photos also later circulated just moments before of the group standing outside the shelter, a final snapshot before every one of them was murdered.

She was killed alongside fellow passengers Natalia Tomayev, Lilia Giller, Yaakov Mortov, Tatiana Schnitman, Igor Kurtser, Valeri Fridman, Michal Zarbailov, Nadejda Spravchikov, Sonia and Vladimir Popov, Berta Shamayev and Zina Beylin.

Luda was buried in Ofakim. She is survived by her two daughters, Sveta and Nataliya, and several grandchildren.

A native of Belarus, Luda had three siblings, according to a municipal eulogy.

She was a seamstress who loved to help others and was known for refusing to charge too much for her work, her family said. They said she had a special weakness for soldiers, and would always do sewing work on their uniforms for free.

Her granddaughter, Eva, wrote on social media that “anyone who knew her knew that there was no woman more pure than her — from one conversation, one smile, you can see that she was pure.”

Eva wrote that her grandmother “was the strongest person I have ever known! She always acted like everything was fine, even when it wasn’t, and she was willing to do anything for me, just to put a smile on my face.”

“She was my role model, she was everything to me,” she added. “Every time my mother went to work, she would stay with me and play with me, and every time I was sick she would take care of me and give me her whole soul. Savta had no holds barred when it came to me, and she would do anything to put a smile on my face.”

Eva said her grandmother “was shy, with the biggest heart. Savta always took care of everyone except herself and put her family in first place. Her smile was captivating and mesmerized everyone. She was the most sensitive and the most pure.”

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