OBITUARY

Ludmyla Wolansky, long-time editor at Svoboda

KERHONKSON, N.Y. - Ludmyla Wolansky, a long-time editor of the Ukrainian-language daily Svoboda, passed away unexpectedly on June 22 at the age of 79. She was also a member of the Ukrainian Journalists' Association of America for many years, serving as secretary of that organization.

Mrs. Wolansky was born in Ukraine on May 6, 1922, to the Shara family. Her father, a veteran of the battle of Kruty in World War I, was executed by the Soviets in 1930 for "nationalism," forcing her mother to support their three daughters on her own.

When German troops invaded during the second world war, the young Miss Shara moved to Berlin, where she worked in radio and got her start as a newspaper editor. Later she married Dr. Oleh Wolansky in 1943. After the war the young couple lived for a while in the British zone of Germany. Blessed with a nice voice, Mrs. Wolansky performed with the Renaissance theater while in the displaced persons camps. In 1950, Mrs. Wolansky, her husband and two daughters immigrated to the United States where her three sons were later born.

In 1974 Mrs. Wolansky joined the editorial board of Svoboda, eventually assuming responsibility for the editorial/opinion page, which she held for many years. Five years later she took over the editorship of the Ukrainian National Association Almanac, a function she performed until 1999.

Mrs. Wolansky was a dedicated journalist and had a keen interest in literature and politics. She was active in the Ukrainian community and would often write about community and political events. Her articles appeared not only on the pages of Svoboda, but also in other Ukrainian publications.

In recent years she had traveled to Ukraine to do archival research and had been planning a similar trip this summer.

The panakhyda was held on Monday, June 26, in Kerhonkson, and funeral services were held the following day at Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church also in Kerhonkson.

Mrs. Wolansky is survived by her husband, Oleh, and children, Lileja, Bohdanna, Taras, Ihor and Lev, as well as three granddaughters and four grandsons.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 8, 2001, No. 27, Vol. LXIX

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