BATH — Nadia Woodland (née Don), 71, of Maple Street died Monday, April 8, 2013.

Nadia was born in East Meadow, New York on July 29, 1941, the only child of Andrei Sergeievich Khokhlochov (Andrew Don) of the Don Region, Russia and Gazella Don (née Guarino) of Italy. Following her parents’ divorce soon after she was born, Nadia spent what she called her happiest childhood years in a Russian Orthodox orphanage in New York. After the orphanage closed when she was 8, she lived in various foster homes until she found a permanent home in Pepper Box Hill in Waterford, Connecticut. Nadia graduated from New London High School in 1959 and attended Connecticut College for Women until she married Stuart Woodland, the handsome engineer next door, in 1961. Their daughter, Natasha, was born in 1969.

Nadia and her family moved to Bath in 1976 for Stuart’s job at Supervisory of Shipbuilding at Bath Iron Works. Nadia was a fulltime homemaker who enjoyed reading about English and Russian history, knitting hats and mittens for every child she knew (whether the kid wanted them or not), being Girl Scout leader for her daughter’s troop and traveling with her family. She was a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts, a member of Cursio and was proud to have been received and accepted by Grace Episcopal Church in Bath. Neither Stuart nor Nadia could ever resist a stray cat and adopted many over the years, though Nadia was always partial to the family dog, who Nadia always shared her food with.

In her later years, Nadia’s eyesight, hearing and balance started to fail her but she made sure to visit her daughter wherever she was, be it in Russia, Western Europe, Arizona or New York City. Unable to really see movies or TV, she still enjoyed listening to her old favorites. Her fellow parishioners at Grace Church helped her enjoy a group visit to Palestine by taking turns and taking her arm, guiding her from one holy site to the next and describing for her what they were seeing. Her delight is obvious from the photo they took of her, riding a camel. In her last years, Nadia wasn’t able to get around very well, especially after crushing a hip in 2012. However, friends and family knew, that when they called, if she didn’t answer the phone, she was either at the doctor’s or at her second home, Mae’s Café, enjoying a meal with friends and sharing their latest joys or sorrows.

Stuart was driving Nadia to lunch at Mae’s Café on Monday afternoon when she lost consciousness in the car. The paramedics were unable to revive her and she was declared dead shortly thereafter at MidCoast hospital in Brunswick. She died quickly after struggling for years with advanced kidney disease, congestive heart failure and diabetes. Despite severe damage to parts of her eyes due to diabetes, Nadia’s corneas will help another person see and her warm skin will help others heal.

Nadia is survived by her husband, Stuart Woodland of Bath, her sister, Denise Schmidt of Florida, her sistersin law Anne and Jean of Massachusetts and her favorite (and only) daughter, Natasha, of Bath and New York City.

A celebration of life will be held at 11AM on Saturday, April 13th at Grace Episcopal Church, 1100 Washington Street, Bath. After the service, there will be a small gathering at Grace Church in Tubbs Hall, catered by Mae’s Café. All are welcome to attend and toast her memory. Her ashes will be scattered at a later date. In lieu of flowers, Nadia’s family requests that donations be made in her memory to the Tall Tails Beagle Rescue in Freeport, Maine (81 Pleasant Hill Rd., Freeport, ME 04032). All those who knew Nadia are encouraged to leave their online condolences at www.daiglefuneralhome.com.

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