The cookie jar!  Of course!  Zoya knew whenever I'd visit the Slives I'd get into the corner of the kitchen to the cookie jar and grab a couple.  It was always plentiful!  I was young enough to be naive to think I was "sneaking in" but of course Mother Zoya knew exactly what was going on.  Wiser than wise.  A true Cambridge Legend.  Love ya Zoya!  And a Forever Thanks for the treats!

Nancy and I have wonderful memories of visits with Zoya here in Dallas, in Boston and in Maine. She was so generous of her time and attention. I remember the last visit we had in Boston when she insisted I sit beside her and tell her all about what my family and I had been doing. We talked for half an hour. She was delightful and I will miss her. - Phil Umphres

Ted and I love our friend Katya and We are so fortunate we got to meet and hang and laugh AND get the best hugs from Zoya and Seymour. We celebrated Katya's birthday together a couple of times. I also got to go to their beautiful home in Cambridge and off to Maine for a truly magical time.  Zoya taught me how to eat lobster with tons of butter:) thank you, Zoya, will miss you. -Becky

I treasure my friendship with Katya. Although we met in Santa Monica CA., we quickly discovered we had New England roots in common. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to meet Zoya at a lunch on Walker St. She had the same lively curiosity and humor that I cherish in Katya. Joe and Katya have told me many Zoya stories and I know that she lived a full and wonderful life.

Joe and Katya shared Zoya and Seymour with us much to our delight and benefit. But I received a special gift from Zoya because we shared our profession. I am a better clinician for every conversation when she shared her wisdom with me. She was a wise and insightful psychologist decades ahead of most of her peers. She gave of herself unsparingly to many, including me. I will miss her.

We will miss Zoya, a wonderful, warm, and insightful woman.  She was a dear friend and colleague for many years.  Her voice itself was musical, friendly and comforting.  Condolences to her dear family.

It’s rare for someone to be wise and caring and full of sparkle, but Zoya was just such a person. To meet her on Walker Street always made our day brighter and better. When we moved here some 25 years ago, Zoya and Seymour made all the difference to our feeling welcome and so happily at home here. Spending time with Zoya, even recently as she took in the autumn air from her wheelchair, was a pleasure and an inspiration.  Zoya's care for those struggling in the world and her calm understanding of what needed to be done to better things, showed a truly generous and expansive spirit, one that was beautifully complemented by that sparkle in her eyes and the most lovely smile, often accompanied by a delightfully infectious chuckle.  We shall deeply miss Zoya here on Walker Street but she will always remain with us in our hearts.
Anna and Lino

Zoya was a super-model of what a woman could be in the ‘60s and ‘70s when I came to know her, magically succeeding in so many ways: loving and unjudgmental of her children, supportive of her husband’s demanding career, attentive to friends a well as family, deeply engaged in community, sympathetic to the social challenges that were stirring, exacting yet patient, good humored, never losing her sense of self. And a good cook with a green thumb too! The festive suppers around her table and the plants in her greenhouse were my twin envies. There is a season for everything, her life seemed to say, and these grew more splendid year by year as Zoya allowed herself to age unselfconsciously and with incredible grace, nurturing grandchildren as she had their parents, never losing concern for friends, new ones as well as old, and working to make the world a better place. There was something else too, Zoya’s mother’s friendship with Michael’s mother, two widowed Russian immigrants who met in Chicago in 1949. The fact that Zoya had known the man I would marry when he was just a young boy was always part of her mystery for me, a sign that she had a sense of what was right before the rest of us realized it, and she usually did. I took note. How much she meant to all of us.

Zoya was the embodiment of wisdom, but also full of joy and love.  I am grateful for the time I got spend with her at her home in Cambridge and in Maine.  Our visits felt like a pilgrimage, a chance to reflect and to share and to laugh.  I will miss her very much.  

We will sorely miss Zoya, a neighborhood fixture for the nearly 30 years we have lived on Walker St.  We so enjoyed seeing her, talking to her, interacting at block parties and in the neighborhood.  Here’s to an original woman.   A life well lived, who will be remembered fondly by many for all she did.  —Beth and Judy

Zoya, you will be in my heart as my second mother, who taught me so much about how to be both mother, a professional woman and activist. You inspired me to become a therapist, and you taught me how to cook almost anything, and your simple, elegant taste was what I try to imitate. I can feel your warm embrace when I see your sparkling eyes and smile. I love you.

What a privilege it has been to have had Zoya as a friend and neighbor on Walker Street Place for 36 years!  We have never known a more supportive, gentle, sympathetic, and accepting person. Zoya, we will never forget your welcoming smile and the way your eyes sparkled whenever you saw us. We miss you and treasure the memories that live on in our hearts.

Meeting Zoya, one was immediately struck by a feeling of closeness, Zoya so warm, strong, kind, calm and cosy, and blessed with a memorable joie-de-vivre and sense of humour. And so it has remained over the many subsequent years. Every gathering was a life-enhancing event.

I met Zoya in the 1980's when a group of us working in the mental health field gathered for monthly "Group S(o)up" lunches. Zoya was our matronly sage: always exuding kindness and optimism. I can still hear her lilting voice, and feel her calm and formidable presence. Her home-made soups were legendary. Zoya epitomizes greatness and the very best of humanity. I'm blessed to have known her.

I just want to thank Zoya for give me the opportunity to work for her she open the door when I most need it,I always going to remember her like the most beautiful,lovely lady that she was,she have a special place in my heart ??

Thinking about Zoya/ Dr Slive will always bring a smile. You get to know her and find a compassionate, generous, kind, funny, strong, a loving mother/friend and so much more. I was her caregiver last year.  She would offer to pay a parking ticket, give my daughter academic advice, play word game, ensure I ate, watch movies, talk or say it ok to be silent. I will always remember her, a Lady??????????

To the last, conversations with Zoya were always enormously soothing. She listened, she considered, and she questioned - always bringing a perfect balance of lightness and depth, to any subject. When Zoya agreed with you, she meant it, and when she questioned you, it was gently. Either way, there was a volume of experience she was drawing on, and still learning from. I am forever grateful.

Zoya's passing brought a smile to my face. Up came memories of stimulating conversations over dinner in her home.  After one such dinner I turned to Judy and mentioned that in my entire family, a Zoya did not exist. Her life stories, achievements and the love she gave freely contained valuable experience, wisdom and compassion. The learned mother/grandmother had welcomed me, And the food!!

Katya,Though I sadly never met your Mum , Your description of your Mum’s life painted such a vivid picture and reading these heartfelt tributes add to the person I imagine.
She had a large presence in many lives she touched, just as you do.
You on her spirit as I know you.

I have so many memories of sitting in the kitchen with Katya and asking questions about how she met Seymour. Her childhood memories of fleeing Russia and living in Berlin are still vivid. I also think about Semour and Zoya's love of my Linzer tortes. When the wealth was warm, we sat outside in the garden and mused about politics, graduate school and living with little kids in Amsterdam.  

Zoya's warmth and cheer extended to young and old, close friends and strangers. . She was a curious and generous listener. We will never forget how Zoya said; "Seymour dear, what shall we have for lunch today?" , SO LOVINGLY, after decades of marriage!

I miss having tea with Zoya and Seymour and I will miss having tea with just Zoya. Hard to say goodbye to such a good friend.  Sending love to her,  Love Anna xxoo

Zoya always encouraged and supported me with subtle insistence that I remain true to myself.  As a struggling adolescent and young adult this validation was unparalleled. Later, when I became a psychotherapist, over lunches or tea, Zoya continued her supportive insistence that I value my own thinking.  She embodied strength, tenderness and warmth with tenacity. Sending love for all. Julie

I'm not sure how many summers I spent at the house on Deer Isle when I was a kid - they have a HUGE place in my memory, probably oversized compared to the amount of time I was there. Mushrooms. Swimming. Zoya in her big bathing suit and bathing cap in the (icy!) water, Her chanterelles on toast was probably the first thing I ever learned to cook.

WOW! What an emotional & inspirational memorial presentation. We feel privileged to have known Zoya and thrilled to hear such eloquent testimonials from those closest to her.

Zoya's smile and kindness lit up the world. As a teenager I loved visiting the Slive home, as it was filled with love and humor and fun. As an adult I grew to more fully appreciate the depth of Zoya's spirit and her humanity. I didn't see her often. When I did it felt rich and full and gave me beautiful memories to savor and store. I feel very grateful to have known her. xox Marea

Dearest Slives, and Grandchildren and neighbors and friends from all over,
I was so moved by Zoya's memorial and all of your stories. Several things were said that made me think I know what they mean! I got to know Zoya though my dear Katya. Her mellifluous voice will never leave me and her hugs and Seymours that made me say, "I am loved!" xoxo, Marty

I met Zoya relatively late in her long and extraordinary life, but her soup group meetings and later the one-to-one lunches we used to share were a highlight of my visits to Mike and Thom in Jamaica Plain. I feel privileged to have had a few glimpses into a long life extraordinarily well lived.  xox Gina

When her sister's life was honored in the Faculty Club, Zoya consideratelyasked if I had a little sister, which I do have, and she asked me to be kind to her. Zoya and Seymour were very kind to Vera,
her high maintenance sister, who epitomized Mother Russia. We are deeply grateful for Vera's immense kindness and affection, and we miss her and her family,Steve Jerome