Velta Cederbaums

Velta Cederbaums of Louisville, Colorado passed away on January 30, 2025. She was 90.

Born on May 31, 1934 to Janis Zibergs and Olga Andjans, Velta grew up in Bebrene, Latvia until Russia invaded her country in 1944. Velta and her family were forced to hide in the mountains before traveling by foot to the Baltic Sea where the Germans took them by transit ship to Gadansk, Poland. From this point, by any means available, they made their way to the outskirts of Vienna, Austria where they resided in a Latvian deportation camp for a few years. After that, the family stayed at a camp in Karlsruhe, Germany where they continued to learn English and seek out sponsorship from an American family. After several years, they were finally able to set sails for America thanks to a family in Cumberland, Maine. Velta’s family made the arduous sea journey to the United States where they spent years working for their sponsoring family. Velta graduated from Greely High School, and the family ultimately saved enough money to relocate to Boston. In 1958, Velta married Ilgonis Cederbaums (whom she would subsequently divorce) and later gave birth to her daughter, Daina.

Over time, both Daina and Velta came to Colorado. Velta worked as a parts clerk at Boulder Valley VW and upon her retirement she cared for her first grandson, Benjamin. Velta cherished her role as grandmother. Eventually, she had two more grandsons, Samuel and Frederick, and a great-grandson, Oliver, who only added to her joy. The boys and their friends regarded Velta as a nurturing figure for the neighborhood. At their home in Louisville, Velta shined as a gardener as many neighbors would compliment her work and ask for advice. Sadly, on December 30, 2021, Velta experienced the second displacement of her life. As the Marshall Fire destroyed their Louisville home, Velta somberly remarked upon their evacuation, “I have done this before.” It would be two and a half years before the family could return to their newly constructed home, and, despite her pleasure there, she died eight months later of acute leukemia.

Velta is survived by her daughter, Daina Mead; her son-in-law, Daniel Austin; her grandsons, Samuel Austin, Frederick Austin, and Benjamin Mead as well as Benjamin’s wife, Kathryn, and Velta’s great-grandson, Oliver Mead.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to the California Community Foundation Wildfire Recovery Fund (calfund.org) or the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund (globalgiving.org). Velta’s heart went out to both those displaced by the recent California fires and those affected by the war in Ukraine.

The Mead-Austin family thanks you for all your heartfelt wishes and kind remembrances.