OBITUARY: Marie Bloch, noted children's author (05/31/98)

OBITUARY

Marie Bloch, noted children's author

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Marie Halun Bloch, who made an invaluable contribution to 20th century Ukrainian children's literature, died here on February 7, at the age of 88. Mrs. Bloch was born in Komarno, Ukraine, daughter of Rudolf Halun and Sofia Pelensky Halun, and emigrated to the United States with her family as a young child. Mrs. Bloch, who considered herself to be a devout Ukrainian patriot, returned to visit her homeland many times throughout her life.

Mrs. Bloch received her primary and secondary school education in the Evanston, Ill. public school system and received her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago. She worked as an economist for the U.S. Department of Labor in the 1930s.

Mrs. Bloch was the author of 18 fiction and non-fiction books for children and two books for adults. Her most popular works included "Aunt America," an American Library Association Notable Book, and "Ukrainian Folk Tales," translated from Ukrainian by Mrs. Bloch and illustrated by Jacques Hnizdovsky.

Many of her other books contained Ukrainian themes and can be attributed to her Ukrainian heritage. "Marya of Clark Avenue" and "Displaced Person" both narrated the tales of young Ukrainian immigrants. "The Two Worlds of Damyan" is a book about a Ukrainian boy's life during Soviet times and "Bern, Son of Mikula" is a historical novel for young people set in ancient Kyiv.

Mrs. Bloch translated "Ivanko and the Dragon," a folktale, which was illustrated by artist Yaroslava Surmach Mills.

Another translation, an account of early Ukrainian immigrant life in North Dakota was published as "Pilgrims of the Prairie" by the Ukrainian Cultural Institute of Dickinson State College in North Dakota.

At the time of her death, Mrs. Bloch was writing a book for adults about the history of the Dnipro River. In all, she had published more than 20 books.

Mrs. Bloch was a longtime member of the Authors' League of America, the Authors' Guild, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, from which she received several awards, the Colorado Authors' League, and the Denver Women's Press Club.

In 1976 she founded the Rocky Mountain chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

A resident of Denver, Colo. for 50 years, she had lived in Cambridge since 1993. She was a member of the parishes of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in both Denver and Boston. Throughout her life, she was an active member of the Ukrainian American community.

She leaves her daughter, Hilary, and son-in-law, John Hopkins of Cambridge; granddaughters Susannah Halun Hopkins of Hanoi, Vietnam and Alyson Marie Hopkins of Sommerville, Mass.; her sister, Olga Felton of Hot Springs, Ark.; and members of her sister's and late brother's families. Mrs. Bloch also leaves many members of her parents' families in Ukraine.

A celebration of her life was held at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. Burial was in Evanston with her parents.