Former UNA President John O. Flis dies (06/17/01)

Former UNA President John O. Flis dies

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - John O. Flis, former three-term president of the Ukrainian National Association and first president of the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council, died on June 8 at the age of 78.

Mr. Flis was born on September 1, 1922, in Pidsosny, Ukraine. He emigrated to the United States at the age of 12 after literally walking from Lviv to Poland.

Upon arrival in the United States he went on to become president of his graduating class at Junior High School No. 64 in New York City. He attended Stuyvesant High School, and at the age of approximately 18 he created and was the director and choreographer of the Ukrainian Dancing Society of New York during the 1940s through the 1960s. Many a marriage resulted from membership in the dance club.

Mr. Flis was a tenor who sang in St. George's Church choir under the direction of Prof. Theodore Onufryk. Both the dance group and choir participated in many concerts throughout the Metropolitan New York area to wide acclaim.

Mr. Flis served in the United States Army in Europe during World War II and upon returning home in 1947 married his sweetheart and dance partner, Mary Tolopka. She had kept the dance group together while Mr. Flis was in the U.S. Army.

Mr. Flis returned to school and graduated cum laude from the New York School of Commerce, Accounting and Finance with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1948. He went on to New York University Law School and received his law degree in December 1953.

He had a thriving law and accounting practice on Second Avenue in New York City and served the community for over 25 years.

Mr. Flis worked diligently and devoted himself to the Ukrainian community. He was an officer and/or member of the board of directors of Self Reliance New York Federal Credit Union from the early 1950s until his retirement in 1995, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, Village View Housing on the Lower East Side of New York City, and the Holy Spirit Cemetery Corp.

In addition he was legal advisor of the Ukrainian Studies Fund and a member of the Visiting Committee of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, as well as a member of the board of directors of the Ukrainian Institute of America.

Mr. Flis was elected vice-president of the Ukrainian National Association and served in that post in 1974-1978. In 1978 he was elected president of the Ukrainian National Association and served three terms until 1990. In recognition of his years of service to the UNA he was named an honorary member of the UNA General Assembly.

He was the first president of the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council, one of the two Ukrainian umbrella organizations in the United States.

Mr. Flis and Wasyl Weresh in 1976 organized and staged the first Ukrainian street festival ("yarmarok") with St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church on East Seventh Street in New York City. The festival has been held annually with great success for the past 25 years. He was also an active member of the Ukrainian Catholic Veterans Post of St. George in New York City.

Dr. Flis was a devoted family man who enjoyed his family and home on Long Island; to relax he became an avid gardener. In recent years he resided in Vermont with his daughter and her husband.

He was married to his beloved Mary until her death in 1991. Surviving are his daughter, Felicia Flis Woolsey; son, John Andrew; and two granddaughters, Tatiana and Ariana. Also surviving are his sister Tessie Kology and brother Mike Baran.

The funeral liturgy was offered on Wednesday, June 13, at Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Kerhonkson, N.Y. Interment was at Holy Spirit Cemetery in Hamptonburgh, N.Y. In accordance with the family's wishes, memorial donations may be sent to: Orleans Essex VNA and Hospice, North Country Hospital, Prouty Drive, Newport, VT 05855.

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