GREENFIELD — Hundreds of friends and family members joined for prayer and music Friday evening to celebrate the lives of the Doncev family — 45-year-old Dmitri, 44-year-old Ecaterina, and their children, 13-year-old Emily and 7-year-old Mark, who were killed in a multi-vehicle crash in Virginia two weeks ago.
In a packed chapel at Providence Christian Academy on Chapman Street, loved ones said the death of the family was tragic, but they retain hope that they are together in heaven.
Dmitri’s niece, Carolina Bublik, said faith was at the center of everything the Doncevs did.
“May this family’s lives serve as an example to all of us. May we be honest and bold in our faith like Dima. May we be generous, compassionate and supportive of others like Katya. May we be patient, thoughtful and eager to learn like Emily, and may we be strong, resilient and full of life like Mark,” Bublik said. “These qualities did not come by chance. They were shaped and nurtured through their faith in Jesus Christ, who they loved and followed.”
The four members of the Doncev family died in a May 29 crash on Interstate 95 in Stafford County, Virginia, about two miles from the exit for Quantico. The family had been traveling south to the wedding of another one of Dmitri’s nieces in South Carolina when, at approximately 2:35 a.m., a bus operated by E&P Travel failed to slow for traffic in a work zone and crashed into a Chevrolet Suburban driven by 25-year-old Priscilla Mafalda of Worcester. Mafalda’s Suburban was then forced into the Doncev family’s Acura SUV and other vehicles. Mafalda was also killed in the crash.
The bus was driven by Jing Sheng Dong, 48, of Staten Island, New York, who now faces five felony counts of involuntary manslaughter and a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving.
“As they traveled to South Carolina, their family was filled with joy and anticipation for a wedding celebration,” Bublik recounted. “And in the beginning of a new chapter for those they loved, then, in a single moment, God called them home to his eternal presence. … As a family, we feel the loss profoundly, and there’s no words that can fully express the emptiness their absence leaves behind. Yet we do not grieve without hope. We have the assurance that they are with the Lord, and we hold fast to the promise that one day, God will reunite all who trust in him.
“Their story began in the small country of Moldova. Though they grew up in different parts of the country and faced different circumstances, their challenges helped strengthen their faith in God,” Bublik said. “In 2005, Dima and Katya met and began their journey together. A year later, they were married and started building a life side by side. From that moment on, they shared life’s joys, challenges, victories and hardships together.”
Bublik said the couple came to America in 2008, where Dmitri pursued a life of serving others by studying nursing at Greenfield Community College, and he eventually went on to work in Holyoke Medical Center’s Mental Health Unit. Ecaterina continued her love of cosmetology and worked as a hairdresser.
“But those who knew her best knew that her greatest joy was her family,” Bublik said. “She was a devoted wife and a loving mother who poured her heart into caring for her children. She cherished every moment with Emily and Mark, and was deeply invested in their lives, their growth and their future.”
“She was always preparing cooking, always doing something around the house,” Pastor Simion Placinta of the Greenfield Russian Baptist Church said through a translator.
Teachers and classmates of Emily and Mark Doncev created a shrine filled with photos, flowers and letters at Providence Christian Academy in Greenfield. Credit: MADISON SCHOFIELD / Staff Photo 
A celebration of life held in honor of the Doncev family on Friday in Greenfield was filled with music and prayer. Credit: MADISON SCHOFIELD / Staff Photo 
A celebration of life held in honor of the Doncev family on Friday in Greenfield was filled with music and prayer. Credit: MADISON SCHOFIELD / Staff Photo 
A celebration of life held in honor of the Doncev family in Greenfield on Friday was filled with music and prayer. Credit: MADISON SCHOFIELD / Staff Photo
Bublik described Emily as an “exceptionally intelligent” girl who dreamed of becoming a doctor one day, and Mark wanted to be just like his father. He loved playing outdoors and fixing his toy cars.
She added that the Doncevs often prayed together to be reunited in heaven with their other loved ones.
Placinta added that while the family is together in heaven, friends and family members remaining on Earth need to support each other as they grieve and remember their faith.
“Today, you are witnesses to see that when we say goodbye to someone,” Placinta said, “we are together.”
