Elena Kuznetsova

Elena Kuznetsova was born on January 25 th , 1964 in Moscow Russia. She passed away on January 5, 2025 at the age of 60 in Germantown, Maryland. Elena immigrated to the United States in 1994 and for 30 years has made Maryland her home.

Elena is survived by her loving husband, Mykola Geletin, her two children, Olga Kuznetsova and Alex Kuznetsov, and her mother, Natalia Kostenkova, along with many other relatives and friends. Elena is proceeded in death by her father, Yuri Kostenkov, and mother-in-law, Dina Kuznetsova. 

Elena received a B.S. in Biology at the Moscow State Pedagogical University. She always had a drive for helping others and channeled her passion through biomedical research. After college, she worked at The Russian Research Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (ВИЛАР) studying the effects of chemicals on animals. In the United States, she spent 27 years working to further research efforts, predominantly at the NIH. For 23 years she worked at the National Cancer Institute, settling at LASP, working as a facility manager of building 41, research associate, and surgical trainer. She loved working with mice so much that she decorated her home with little mouse trinkets that she picked up on her travels.

Elena loved to travel. Throughout her life she had visited 19 countries and 20 states. She saw 4 wonders of the world, swam in 3 oceans, experienced the Islandic Aurora Borealis, climbed a glacier, swam with dolphins, and took lots and lots of pictures, which was one of her favorite hobbies. Most recently, she was planning her trip to Peru to see Machu Picchu.

Elena wanted to be cremated and released into the ocean as she wants to continue traveling the world. 

Her beautiful, kind, loving spirit will be incredibly missed by her family and friends. She was a light of pure goodness and joy.

Viewing: 

January 15, 2025, 4pm-6pm

Funeral:

6pm-7pm

Location: Donald V. Borgwardt Funeral Home

4400 Powder Mill Rd

Beltsville, MD 20705

Elena’s family would like to set up two memorials for her. A tree memorial at the NIH campus where she worked most of her life, and a park bench near her home in Damascus, Maryland. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the following GoFundMe for these memorials: https://gofund.me/72bc69cb