Obituary of Vilma V. Semeiks

Vilma Victorija Semeiks Vilma passed away on Wednesday, October 23, 2013, at St. Peter’s Hospital. Vilma was born on August 10, 1917 on a small farm not far from the small city of Limbazi in northern Latvia. As a child and young woman she lived a normal life. She went to school, made friends, worked hard, graduated from high school and went on to higher education at a school for teaching. She had the dreams and hopes of so many other Latvians of that time. Those hopes and dreams were shattered by World War II. With the imposition of communism, and loss of the family farm, Vilma, while still only 27 years of age, was forced to flee with her mother, Matilde, and a cousin, meeting her future husband Alfreds, and his son, Juris, along the way. They ended up in a displaced person camp in Germany. Vilma and Alfreds had two children in Germany (Ivars and Andrew) before they emigrated in 1949 to Raleigh, North Carolina. They soon moved to upstate New York State and their family grew with the addition of two more children (Ilga and Valdis). As Latvians, they were strangers in a strange land, but with their work ethic and perseverance, they learned the new language and were able to not only survive but raise a family and live a long, rich life. Vilma and Alfreds proudly became U.S. citizens in 1959. The family lived in either Athens or Coxsackie (both Greene County) for 45 years. In 2005, when the children were long gone from the household, they moved to Greenville Country Estates. Vilma lost Alfreds in 2011 when he died at the ripe old age of 95. His ashes were returned to the old country, where he now resides in a beautiful cemetery outside of Limbazi, Latvia. In 2012, at the age of 95, Vilma was admitted to Riverside Nursing Home in Castleton, New York where she resided until shortly before her death at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany. In her later years, she loved to garden and bake. While Vilma grew to love her new country, Vilma always considered Latvia her true home. Her ashes will now be returned to the beautiful cemetery on a hill outside of Limbazi, where she will rest happily forever next to her husband Alfreds, her mother and father, and the rest of her family. Vilma is survived by her children, Ivars Semeiks (wife, Barbara) of Coxsackie, Andrew Semeiks (wife, Pamela) of Castleton, Ilga Semeiks of Washington DC, Valdis Semeiks (wife, Penny) of Sand Lake and six grandchildren and four great grandchildren. A Memorial Service will be held at the A.J. Cunningham Funeral Home, Greenville, NY on Saturday, November 2 at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the Latvian Relief Fund of America at www.lrfa.org. . Light a candle at ajcunninghamfh.com.