Paul Andrew Urtiew

Paul Urtiew lived a long life, one that was full of joy and success, but not without its own trials. Born in 1931 in Nish, Yugoslavia to Andrei Pavlovich and Margarita Vladimirovna Urtiew who had fled Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution, Paul and his older sister Eugenia spent the first 12 years of his life there. The early 1940s found the world again in the throws of upheaval, and the Urtiew family was separated when Paul’s parents were forcefully taken to Germany to work in factories. Margarita fought for her children, and was finally able to bring them to Munich, where the family spent the next 6 years. In 1950 Paul and his family were able to secure passage to the “promised land”, where they were settled in San Francisco. Upon arrival, Paul began his higher education at the University of California, Berkeley, where, after a 2-year Army stint, he graduated in 1964 with a doctorate in mechanical engineering. He went on to spend his entire career (nearly 50 years) working for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a researcher scientist. The Russian community in SF was quite large in the 1950s and 60s where many immigrants found themselves rebuilding their lives after the two World Wars. Paul was very active in this community, both in church as well as secular life. He began serving as an altar boy in Yugoslavia, and continued serving the church as subdeacon, and for a time as parish council member, in the Holy Virgin Cathedral. He danced in Russian folk groups and sang in church and folk choirs. He was also very active in the Russian scout organization, St. George Pathfinders, which he had joined while in Germany, eventually becoming head scoutmaster for 12 years in the US between the 1970s and 80s. In 1961, Paul married Svetlana, the eldest daughter of Archpriest Nicholas Dombrovsky, clergyman of the Holy Virgin Cathedral. They went on to have two children, Andrei and Natasha. Life was full of travel, both work and pleasure, raising two children, scout events and camps, church services and fundraisers. Even after losing his wife of 35 years to cancer, he continued serving the church and the community, working and traveling. In 2005 his first of 4 grandchildren were born, which led to many trips to Chicago, where his children had settled with their families. Up until his 90th birthday Paul was independent, actively walking the hills of SF, involved in the Russian community, his children’s lives and taking care of his older sister. A stroke that affected only his speech and comprehension, however, robbed him of his independence, but brought him closer to his children, who moved him and his sister to the Chicago area. There he spent his final 2 years. He passed peacefully on November 2nd, 2023, at the age of 92. He spoke 4 languages, had visited far flung corners of the globe, and had colleagues and friends from Russia to Australia. He will be missed by many. May God grant him rest among the saints. Memory Eternal! Visitation to be held Friday, November 3, 2023, beginning at 4:30 p.m. at Holy Virgin Protection Russian Orthodox Cathedral, 1800 Lee St., Des Plaines, IL 60018 with Panikhida at 7 p.m. Funeral service Saturday, November 4, 2023, at 10 a.m. Panikhida 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, November 8, 2023 at Holy Virgin Cathedral, 6210 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA. Funeral Service 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the cathedral, followed by interment at Serbian Cemetery, Colma, CA. Arrangements entrusted to Muzyka & Son Funeral Home. For more information, please call (773) 545-3800.

Paul Andrew Urtiew

February 23, 1931 - November 2, 2023