Remi Saunder

Remi was born on October 7th, 1922 in Moscow, Russia to Berta and Vasili Udeloyvich. Vasili was a doctor, treating Lenin among other patients. Her first few years were idyllic in Moscow, until Stalin made life difficult for Remi and her family. Her older sister Braina (Beba) was sent to a boarding school in Berlin, and in 1933 Remi and her mother went to ‘visit’ Beba with the intention to escape Russia. Remi’s father was not so lucky - after sending Remi, Beba and her mother money to survive in Berlin, he was never seen or heard from again, disappeared by Stalin’s government.

Remi, her mother and sister were helped by friends to settle into Berlin, and it was there that Beba met Arnold Holzer, who she married. When Hitler came to power and made life impossible for Jews in Berlin, Remi, her mother, and her sister Beba fled to London in 1936 with Arnold and his brothers and sisters. They lived in London for four years while trying to help the rest of their family escape Germany and Poland. Finally in 1940, they secured documents and passage to New York City where Remi, age 18 at the time, would live out the rest of her life. 

Remi was known for her dynamic personality, strong opinions, fierce loyalty to her family, and impressive fashion sense. Remi made her home in her apartment on Madison Avenue from 1954 until her death, living entirely independently at home until past the age of 103. Remi was briefly married to Jacques Saunder in Paris in 1948, whose name she kept. She never married again, living as a fiercely independent woman for the rest of her long life. Remi settled into New York City and built a strong Russian community, helping many defectors to escape Russia, sometimes housing them all in her one-bedroom apartment until they were set up in New York.

One of these was the legendary ballet dancer Misha Baryshnikov, who Remi helped to defect to Canada in 1974 and then became his manager, a role that grew from the deep trust she had earned within the Russian émigré community. Other defectors she helped included the ballet dancer Alexander ‘Sasha’ Godunov and the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. The Rostropovich family would often stay with Remi in her one-bedroom apartment, and Remi would travel with Rostropovich to his performances, with three seats: one for Remi, one for Mstislav and one for his cello. 

Remi continued to focus on the arts, working for Tiffany & Co., where she traveled to Japan to open Tiffany’s first store there, bringing her characteristic elegance and curiosity to every venture. She also founded her own catering business, Remi’s Russian Kitchen, bringing the flavors of her homeland to her New York Community.

Remi’s greatest joy in life was family, friends and pets (mostly dogs). She was social and gregarious and loved hosting tea at her apartment, which often started at teatime and continued into the night - she never wanted any of her guests to leave. Remi was a mother figure to Lenny Holzer, Beba’s son who lost his mother at age 12, and her older years included a dedication to Lenny, his wife Marsia and Remi’s nieces and nephews Chayt, Teddy, Rusty & Christy and grand nieces & nephews Harry, Emma, Sadie, Amelia, Aloma & Leila. Remi continued to ‘cheat death’ - beating cancer three times in the last 20 years - and was full of personality and strong opinions until the end.