Natalya Fomina

Our mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Natalia Kharlampievna Fomina, was born on January 20, 1937, in the village of Aleksandrovka, Odessa region. She was the second child in the family of Kharlampiy Ivanovich and Marina Maksimovna Katrechko. Her parents had seven children in total - four daughters and three sons.

Mother was born during difficult times; she endured war, hunger, and persecution. From a young age, she had to work and help her mother. The most difficult time for the family came when her father was convicted for his faith in the Lord and taken away from them. Because he served as a pastor in the church, he was convicted twice and sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment. But the Lord had other plans - her father was granted amnesty and, after serving two five-year terms, returned home.

The Lord never abandoned them, and Mother often testified to the great mercy and love of God - how He fed them during times of famine and kept all the children alive, and how He sent them help in their times of need.

At the age of 12, Mother was baptized with the Holy Spirit, though without the evidence of speaking in tongues due to her young age. When she turned 18, she received the gift of tongues and, in that same year, entered into a covenant with the Lord. In 1952, she completed the 7th grade of schooling. Further education was closed to her because it required joining the Komsomol (the Communist Youth League). After finishing school, she remained in her native village. She worked on a collective farm - first for two years as a clerk in a construction brigade, and later as a laborer on the farm.

In 1959, Mother married Dmitry Fomin. The Lord blessed them with seven children.

In 2006, our parents emigrated to America. Mother loved the Lord all her life, and one of her last wishes shortly before her passing-when she felt her life was nearing its end-was for her children and grandchildren to gather together and offer a thanksgiving prayer for the life she had lived, and for God's protection and blessings from childhood through old age.

Mother had been ill for many years, beginning in 1995. Her illness would come and go-sometimes she felt better, and at other times it was so difficult that she would say goodbye to her loved ones, thinking her time to pass into eternity had come. It was hard for her in her sickness, but she bore it without complaint, saying:

"It means this is permitted by the Lord."

On the morning of October 19, 2025, the Lord called our mother from this earth, at the age of 88.

She left a kind and lasting legacy in the lives of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Dearest Mother, we will always remember you.

We thank the Lord for you - for raising us, teaching us, and caring for us.

Funeral services will be at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, October 24, 2025, at Sedalia Tabernacle - Skiniya Church, Sedalia, MO.

The burial will follow at Crown Hill Cemetery, Sedalia, MO.

Arrangements are under the direction of Rea Funeral Chapel.