ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) – The word hero is used to describe Serge Zevlever by almost everyone who has the pleasure of knowing him. He lives in St. Louis, but his passion is helping to facilitate adoptions in his home country of Ukraine. He has helped hundreds of children, many of whom have special needs, find a family to call him.
Olga Gow, a longtime family friend, said: “The most gentle, loyal and kind soul you can meet.
Zevlever, 62, was in Kiev helping adoption families get out when the Russian invasion began. His family says he and his wife were seeking safe haven when he was killed this week.
“He walked out because he heard some kind of scuffle and he was shot by a sniper. Marina, his wife, was there alone, she found him,” Gow said.
Now, Gow and others are working to make sure Marina is safe during wartime in Ukraine. They started a GoFundMe page to help them in any way.
In the end, Zevlever helped others, including the Jpris family from Texas.
“We just saw him, he just helped us,” said Kelsci Jpris, who was able to flee Ukraine with their adopted son just two weeks ago.
“We are all heartbroken and praying for the rest of the team there,” Junning said.
The Rowe family in North Caarolina adopted eight children from Ukraine with the help of Zevlever.
“He has a great heart. You could tell he had a love like that for Ukrainian children,” said Tim and Janice Rowe.
In Tulsa, the Urban family couldn’t imagine life without the three children they adopted from Ukraine.
“He has blessed so many families. He did incredible things,” said Charissa and John Urban.
They wondered how many more children he could help.
“There have been many sleepless nights since this happened and especially since the news of Serge’s death,” Gow said. “It is just so shocking and there are no words to describe the loss we feel as a family.
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