Yevdokiya Dmitriyevna Shulgan

Yevdokiya Dmitriyevna Shulgan, 91, was received into Paradise by the gentle hand of her Lord and Savior

Jesus Christ on April 6, 2026 while at the Harrisonburg Health and Rehabilitation Center following a stroke.

Yevdokiya was born on February 23, 1935, in the Domachevo Hospital, in the district of Brest, Belarus, to

Dmitriy and Stepanida Pekun. She was raised in the village of Rogozno by her parents, alongside her five sisters

and two brothers. Yevdokiya was a little girl during WWII when her village suffered destruction at the hands of

the enemy and they were forced to escape into the surrounding forest to live underground. Many vital,

government documents were burned/destroyed as a result of the war. When she obtained her new Passport after

the war, the new Belarusian government issued her a new birth certificate with the new birthdate of October

10,1935. Upon finishing her schooling she moved to Brest, Belarus at the age of 16 to live with her older sister.

Yevdokiya was saved by the grace of God and then baptized in 1956 by the local, underground Baptist church

early in the morning and away from spying eye of the Communist government. In June of 1956 she was married

to the love of her life, Mikhail Makarovich Shulgan. Together in Brest, they built a beautiful home, and had six

sons and four daughters. Life under the Communist regime wasn’t easy, but she always trusted in the Lord to

protect and provide for her family. She persevered much in daily prayers without ceasing.

Yevdokiya was a dedicated Christian, faithful wife and loving mother. She taught Sunday school classes, sang

in the church choir, was on the church Visitation Team visiting widows, the elderly, and the sick, visited small

churches in the nearby villages, held various jobs outside the home, and enjoyed gardening and cooking. She

was a great encourager and a sacrificial example of true love and compassion to everyone she met. When the

KGB shut down and demolished their Baptist church in Brest in the early 60s, while her home was always

known for hospitality, it was then used for hosting secret church gatherings for the next 28 years during the

height of Communist persecution of Christianity. Yet, she displayed the fruits of the spirit in her conduct and

love toward others. Her Christian character and her joyful faith in Jesus Christ were always reflected in her

countenance, whether in times of hardship or persecution.

In 1994 the US government granted Yevdokiya, Mikhail and their three daughters Refugee Status for religious

persecution and they moved to their new home in Dayton, VA with the help of the local First Russian Baptist

Church and also their sponsors from the Mennonite community. Harrisonburg quickly became their new home

and the First Russian Baptist Church became their home church, where Yevdokiya was a member since 1994.

Having then lived out the rest of her life here in the US, her Christian service, her evangelistic spirit, and her

worship of the living God continued until her very last breath. While she lived out her very last days in the

Rehabilitation Center, she often told visitors and family that she continued praying not only for the staff, but

also her remaining children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren, that they would all love and serve the Lord.

In March of 2018 she was preceded in death by her husband, Mikhail, of almost 62 years, and additionally her

first born son Vasilii Shulgan, who was a Baptist Pastor in Brest, Belarus and his daughter Natasha, and her four

sisters and one brother. She is now survived by her nine children: Alexandr, Mikhail, Pavel, Yelena, Timofey,

Benjamin, Raisa, Svetlana, Ludmila and their spouses, 37 grandchildren, 45 greatgrandchildren, and a brother

and sister.

Yevdokiya loved God and neighbor – living out the two Greatest Commandments. She is now resting in the

presence of Jesus Christ, whom she praised daily and shamelessly spoke of to everyone. She will be dearly

missed. Soli Deo Gloria.