Raisa Mikhaylova, age 85, of Waco, Texas, passed away on January 9, 2026, with her family at her side. It was the day of her wedding anniversary. Heaven welcomed a beautiful bride.

She was preceded in death by her parents and by her nine brothers and sisters. She is survived by her husband, Leonid Mikhaylov, her daughter and son-in-law, and her granddaughter.

Raisa was born on October 24, 1940, in Novograd-Volynsky, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine SSR, the youngest of ten siblings. A graduate of the Plekhanov Moscow Institute of National Economy, she began her professional career in Nakhodka, Russia, where she became the city’s chess champion. There, on the edge of the world, she met her husband, a dashing naval officer. Their life together spanned postings across the Pacific Ocean, where she, a Navy officer’s wife, navigated significant challenges, including tsunamis and earthquakes, before they ultimately settled on the Black Sea coast in the town of Anapa, her husband’s final appointment before retirement. Wherever life took them, she skillfully applied her economics education— not only holding a professional job but also managing the household independently while her husband was at sea, whether that meant warming the house with a wood-burning stove and raising chickens on the Kuril Islands or growing a garden and canning in Anapa.

Known affectionately by some as the "Navy officer's wife" and by others as "the Duchess," Raisa carried herself with notable emotional resilience, grace, and poise. She possessed an extraordinary ability to connect with people from all walks of life and around the world. Her home was always open, a reflection of her open heart. She truly embodied selfless Love and Beauty, leaving a lasting legacy of grace.