Before deadly knife stitching, Iryna Zarutska had in love with the American dream, says relative (exclusive)

Even without still mastering the English language, Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugeehad built strong ties to those in her community – both young and old – during the three years she spent in North Carolina.

So much was clear at her show and funeral last month, who participated by the many people whose life she had touched since she, her mother and two younger siblings arrived in the United States from Kiev in August 2022, says her uncle.

Zarutska was “the glue” in the family, he says.

Uncle, who requested anonymity, says up to 100 people came to pay her respect only from assistant accommodation where she had worked in Huntersville, NC was one of her first jobs, says her uncle. The facility, which was a mile or two from home that he and his wife had opened to Zarutska and her family, coordinated for buses to take residents to her services.

Zarutska, her mother, her brother and sister had lived with her uncle and his wife from when they arrived in the United States until May.

“What motivated us to get them out of Ukraine was to see a picture of them hugged in a bomb guard near their apartment there in Kiev,” says her uncle.

“They didn’t want to come to this country and be a burden,” he continued. “They wanted to come to this country to build a new life.”

Zarutska’s life was tragically cut when she was deadly killed on an light-rail train in Charlotte on August 22. The suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, was arrested on a first degree murder. The Ministry of Justice has also accused him of a bill of committing an act that causes death on a mass transport system.

Zarutska was on her way home from the pizza hall where she worked at night she was killed. Her uncle says she had quickly risen the rankings from a starting level there to a line chef. The facility, zepeddies pizzeria in Charlotte, Remember her as an “incredible employee” and “true friend”, ” in a public statement. The owner of Pizzeria was among those who participated in her funeral.

Her ambition and charm are among the things that her uncle says stood out about Zarutska and pulled admiration from countless others. Since she came to the United States, he says, she tried to work – she would babysitter and go dogs in the neighborhood – and learn English.

“She was just a very, very caring person,” he says. “She loved to help people.”

The Russia-Ukraine war weighed heavily in Zarutska, but she remained focused on what she wanted to do and achieve in life, he said.

She strived to be a veterinary assistant and in addition to working full time at Pizzeria, lessons at a community college took to improve her English. She had also learned to drive.

“I tried to teach her to drive, but I think the language barrier earlier, it made it difficult,” he says. “But then her boyfriend really took to the next level with her and taught her to drive.”

Zarutska saved money to buy his first car and was expected to get their driver’s license next month.

In one of their last text messages, her uncle asked her how she was doing, and she expressed pride in having been able to buy a car and learn to drive.

“The very first trip she would do after receiving her license was to drive and come and visit my wife and I,” he tells people.

He says he wants Zarutska to remember for her contribution to society and for her love for her family.

Her killing has left a hole in the hard -composed family, says her uncle. Her father could not attend her funeral or funeral personally and had to look at it via a Facetime call, where he cried with his mother.

The Ukrainian embassy offered to help bring her to her home country, but her uncle says the family declined – whom he sees as “deep” proof that she had fallen so much in love with the American dream. ”

Zarutska is survived by his parents, Anna Zarutska and Stanislav Zarutskyi, and her siblings, valery and Bohdan, as well as her life partner, Stas Nikulenylysia and other relatives.