Mikalai (Nikolai) “Kolya” Mikhailovich Zhukavets was born May 7th, 1981 in Belarus, to parents Mikhail and Lily. He grew up in the Soviet Union, and was an excellent student and athlete.
At 19, after spending a summer working in Newport, he decided to immigrate to the United States, having fallen in love with the care-free lifestyle and coastal beauty of Rhode Island. He left behind a full scholarship for geographic studies, and started a career in the restaurant business. His quick wit, charm, sense of humor and easy laughter quickly gained him a large circle of dear friends and he became a “local celebrity” of the restaurant scene; notably at Christie’s and the Fifth Element in Newport, and later Hemenway’s in Providence.
In 2004, he had a brief marriage to his first love, Bridget Walsh, with whom he remained life-long friends. In 2008, while working together as bartenders at Asterisks, he met Jenny Latimer. They married at St Mary’s in Newport in 2011, and she was his wife for ten years. Mikalai and Jenny had three sons, Oliver, Max and Nico.
Mikalai returned to school at the University of Rhode Island in 2009 and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics. He and his family moved to Providence in 2014, where he began a successful career in real estate.
He shared the last years of his life with his sweetheart JaTia Rollins, and her two children Niamya and Elijah.
Mik was a devoted and dedicated father; he loved bringing his five children to any and all activities he could – soccer practice, family vacations, trampoline parks, fishing, skating, camping and more!
Mikalai always remained connected to his dear family and many friends back in Belarus, as well as his Belarusian culture; he visited as often as he could. He always missed them dearly, but never regretted his decision to move to the USA, and he was proud to have become an American citizen in 2012.
He is predeceased by his mother Lily Uss and leaves behind his father Mikhail Zhukavets, his younger brother Mikhail “Misha” Zhukavets, his sister-in-law Elina Kotova, his nieces Maria Zhukavets and Victoria Merkushina, and his three sons.
A funeral Mass will be held Saturday, July 29th at 11am at St Sebastian’s in Providence, RI. Luncheon reception to follow. Burial will be private
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