In memory of my sister, Vitalina Shcherbyna

Hi, my name is Anastasiia, I am the older sister of Vitalina (Vita), whose life was tragically lost early Tuesday morning due to a sudden, undiagnosed, brain aneurysm. Creating this campaign is not something I ever thought I would have to do. So many people have reached out asking how they could help and we have decided to create this campaign to help the family organize the celebration of life that Vitalina truly deserves.

Vitalina was born and grew up in Ukraine. She was the soul of any company - shy at first, but impossible not to love once you got to know her better. Vitalina was a talented artist, from a very early age she spent hours drawing, and loved to create handmade postcards, stickers, portraits, and other creative things to surprise her family and friends. At the age of 9, Vita started attending a music school. She fell in love with singing and being a member of a local kids' choir.

She was a very positive child, always up to explore and try new things. You could never have a dull moment with her, she was the light of the family.

In the summer of 2021, at the age of 11 years old Vitalina and her twin sister Lera lost their dad. His life was taken by cancer. It was an incredibly traumatic experience for 11-year-olds and it took them a lot of time to recover from that loss, although, this is not something that you can ever fully recover from.

Just 8 months after the passing of their dad, russia invaded Ukraine and the family had to urgently leave their home. Luckily, they were able to come to Chicago, away from the bombing that at some point took place only 27 miles away from their hometown.

Upon arriving to Chicago, both sisters enrolled into Blaine Elementary. It was a big adjustment and a very stressful period as they had to navigate a new culture, new language and build new friendships. They have succeeded, and we have been constantly amazed by Vitalina's progress - she picked up English incredibly fast and fell in love with the American culture. Halloween became her favorite holiday and she had already decided on a costume for this year's Halloween, which she will never be able to wear.

Vitalina became an admirer of the American culture of the 50s. She learned all songs of Marylin Monroe by heart and performed them for her family. In her notes, she said, "I so want to live in 1950-1970, it seems to me a magical time, oh how I wish to spend at least a day there. The vibe of that period is how I feel inside. I love everything about that time: the movies, the cars, the style, the atmosphere in general - I cannot put it in words. I want to look like girls from that time - they are so elegant and gorgeous. I want to be a reflection of that time".

Vitalina was a hard learner, she spent the whole summer learning math to make sure she would pass the high school test and enroll into a good high school in the city. It was very important for Vita to stay in the city because she did not want to leave her "home away from home" - Uniting Voices Chicago (former Chicago Children's Choir) which she was a member of since last fall. In a Christmas letter to her choir's conductor, she wrote "if souls could choose places, her's would choose the choir". This was true Vita - she wasn't the best at saying how she felt, but she could always write her heart out in a postcard or pour all her love into creating a handmade present for you.

Vitalina is survived by her mom, Natalya, and her sisters Valeriia (Lera) and Anastasiia. Her family wants to give her the best memorial possible as well as her final resting place on Graceland Cemetery, in her favorite neighborhood of Chicago - Lakeview. If you feel inclined to help the family with this, please consider donating. Thank you.

Visitation Saturday, September 9, 10am (service begins 11am) at North Park Covenant Church, 5250 N. Christiana Ave, Chicago, IL 60625. This is the church where Vita sang with her choir.

View the service live at https://live.npcovenant.org/.