Alvina (Albina) Ivanova, 78, of Bland, Virginia, passed away on January 29, 2026. Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, she travelled around the world and resided for two years on Dikson Island, above the Arctic Circle, surrounded by icebergs and polar bears. Moving to the United States in 1999 to be with her daughter and son-in-law, Kristina and Randy Newberry, she became the most beloved grandmother to her one and only grandson, Albert Newberry. Albina was a fierce, inexhaustible, compassionate woman, who protected and fought for those she loved with all her heart. A single mother, she possessed insurmountable strength and had spared no breath raising her only daughter. Albina believed in miracles, insisting that life was worth living even under the direst of circumstances. She worked a hundred jobs, refused to give up, and had the ability to find the best in everybody. She thought that all living things had souls: trees, flowers, spiders, or butterflies. She could revive dying plants or injured birds, raise baby rabbits, possums, hamsters, and cats, whom she deemed sacred. She had a multitude of friends and made each feel treasured, heard, and understood. She cooked a lot, listened to music; enjoyed opera, theater, and art films; visited museums and read tirelessly, convinced that nourishing the mind was just as important as nourishing the body. Always young, optimistic, bursting with energy, she identified with Mary Poppins—“practically perfect in every way.”

Albina is preceded in death by her parents, Feodor and Klavdiya Gorchev, her sister, Galina Alekseeva, her best friend, Yelena Yefimova, and three devoted cats—Marfa, Motya, and Marvin. She is survived by her daughter, her son-in-law, and her grandchild, as well as two nieces, Olga Ostović and Anastasia Nokes, three great nephews, Stipe Ostović, Peter and Daniel Nokes, and one rescued bobtailed kitten, Petrovich.

Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family at www.grubbfuneralhome.com

Grubb Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.