Ella Hans

Ella graduated from high school as valedictorian, was fluent in three languages, earned a master’s degree from the University of Kentucky, and had an IQ of about 140. She was a business owner and the mother of two sons. She was the daughter of Ira, a bakery shop owner from whom she learned that cooking was both craft and care—meals prepared with skill and presented with an attentiveness that made others feel seen and valued. She was the younger sister of Rita, and a devoted aunt to Rita’s two daughters, Tamilla and Illona. Ella spent much of her early childhood and early adulthood closely connected to her extended family, especially her cousins Sergey and Edik. Their father served as an intellectual and emotional anchor in Ella’s life, nurturing her curiosity and love of reading—a legacy that continues in Ella’s youngest son, who bears his name: Alexander (2014). That closeness endured into adulthood. Ella remained particularly close with Edik and his wife, Tonya, and just as Ella and Edik grew up together, so did their children. Edik and Tonya’s twin daughters, Rita and Vika, were close in age to Ella’s first son, Phillip (1990), and they spent much of their childhood together. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in World Literature and Russian Language from Poltava State University in Ukraine, and a Master of Arts degree in Art History from the University of Kentucky. In 2003, Ella and Jason met, and shortly thereafter, she transitioned to the United States.