2005: THE YEAR IN REVIEW: Our community mourns their passing (01/15/06)

2005: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Our community mourns their passing

We mourned the passing during 2005 of many members of our Ukrainian community. Among them were the following.

Metropolitan Vasyly Fedak, 95, archbishop of Winnipeg and primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada since 1985; established eucharistic union with the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1990, and oversaw the UOCC's membership in the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the Americas; worked closely with the World Congress of Free Ukrainians and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Winnipeg, January 10.
Dr. Mary V. Beck, 97, lawyer, Ukrainian activist and female pioneer in American politics, the first woman to be elected to the Common Council of Detroit (1950) and to serve as its president (1957) and as acting mayor of Detroit (1958-1962); promoter of numerous Ukrainian causes, sponsor of numerous political initiatives on behalf of the Captive Nations, publisher and editor of Ukrainian journals, longtime officer and organizer of the Ukrainian National Women's League of America, supporter and patron of the arts, effective ambassador of Ukrainian culture and of the achievements of the Ukrainian diaspora - Sterling Heights, Mich., January 30.
Varvara Yushchenko, 86, teacher and mother of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko; born in Khoruzhivka, Sumy Oblast, where she worked as a teacher of mathematics - Sumy, Ukraine, January 3.
Gene Kinasewich, 63, Harvard University ice hockey star and college hockey legend, magna cum lauda graduate of Harvard University, who went on to earn two master's degrees and a doctorate from Harvard's Graduate School of Education; served as assistant dean of Harvard College; and was sponsor of a hockey exchange program with North American and Ukrainian youth and promotor of the sport in Ukraine - Boston, February 23.
Daniel Slobodian, 86, longtime leader of the Ukrainian community in Kerhonkson, N.Y.; a pioneer and first manager of Soyuzivka, the upstate New York resort of the Ukrainian National Association; a graduate of New York University in business administration; served as first lieutenant in Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army in World War II - Kingston, N.Y., February 26.
Christine Nawrocky, 87, longtime activist and officer of both Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization, including its U.S. National Plast Command, and the Ukrainian National Women's League of America - New York, March 4.
Daria Telizyn, 44, Ukrainian Canadian pianist, graduate of the University of Western Ontario, the Paris Conservatory, and Baltimore's Peabody Conservatory, who concertized throughout North America and Europe - Dunedin, Fla., March 21.
Marian Kouzan, 80, Ukraine-born composer, graduate of the Paris Conservatory of Music, whose work - primarily oratorios and cantatas, was performed in France, throughout Europe and, after 1991, in Ukraine; his work was performed in the United States at New York's Lincoln Center on the occasion of the celebration of the Millennium of Christiantiy in Rus' Ukraine - Framont, France, April 12.
Barbara Bachynsky, 71, longtime activist of the Ukrainian National Association and the Ukrainian National Women's League of America; worked in the UNA's organizing department, was secretary of UNA Branch 184 and chaired the New York UNA District Commmittee - New York, May 10.
Luba Halibey, 87, longtime teacher at Ss. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic School in Jersey City, N.J., and subsequently, in the New Jersey public school system; active member in leading Ukrainian community organizations and institutions - Denville, N.J., April 28.
Stephen M. Wichar, president of the Warren Ukrainian Village Corp., former Michigan state commander of the Ukrainian American Veterans, former national executive board member of the Ukrainian Fraternal Association, former vice-chairman of the Detroit District Committee of the Ukrainian National Association and active member of many other Ukrainian community organizations - Warren, Mich., May 12.
Dr. Mikhail Stern, physician, human rights activist and former Jewish refusenik from Vinnytsia, Ukraine, who called the USSR "a prison of nations"; was sentenced to a labor camp on trumped-up charges; was freed in 1977 after an international campaign for his release, settling in Amsterdam, the Netherlands - June (exact date unknown).
Mikhail Wengryn, 86, former national commander of of the Ukrainian American Veterans, highly decorated World War II veteran who fought in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operation; community activist, president of the Ukrainian Home in Passaic, N.J. - Clifton, N.J., June 4.
Roman Babowal, Ukrainian Belgian poet, member of the New York Group and author of numerous books of poetry in Ukrainian and French, among them "The Deceit of Millk," "Letters to Lovers" and "Travelers of the Probable" - Mintigny-le-Tilleul, Belgium, June 15.
Henrikh Altunian, 72, veteran human rights activist and Soviet political prisoner; native of Tbilisi, Georgia; moved with his family to Kharkiv, Ukraine, in 1951; a founding member of the Initiative Group for Human Rights in the USSR, active member of the Kharkiv Memorial Society and the National Rukh of Ukraine; national deputy of Ukraine (1990-1994) and active participant of the Orange Revolution - Jerusalem, June 30.
Valeriy Illya, author of a number of books of poetry, including "Blacksmiths in the Fog" and "Svarha," editor of Kyiv's literary journal Osnova, married to Ukrainian poet Valentyna Otroshchenko - Kyiv, July 27.
Mary Yuzyk (née Bahniuk), 91, wife of the late Sen. Paul Yuzyk, the first Ukrainian to be appointed to the Canadian Parliament's upper chamber, where he served for 22 years and is remembered as the father of Canada's multiculturalism policy - Ottawa, August 17.
Viktor Kordun, member of the Kyiv School of Poets, longtime vice secretary of the Writers' Association of Ukraine, editor of the journal Svitovyd, author of numerous books of poetry, including "Slavia," "Solstice" and "Wintry Sound of the Woodpecker," - Kyiv, September 3.
Dmytro Hryhorczuk, president of the Ukrainian National Credit Union Association from its inception and a longtime leader of the World Council of Ukrainian Cooperatives - Chicago, October 30.
Dr. Oleh Romaniv, 77, president of the Shevchenko Scientific Society (NTSh) in Ukraine and secretary general of the Shevchenko Scientific Society World Council; professor at the Lviv Polytechnic Institute, member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and a leading Ukrainian authority in the field of metallurgy and the strength of materials - Lviv, November 5.
Anatole Fourmanchuk, Ukrainian American stage director, a graduate of the Karpenko-Karyi Institute in Kyiv and Rada in Moscow; director of some 70 theater productions, including in Ukraine, Russia, Spain and the United States; upon emigrating to the United States in 1995, taught acting at the Michael Howard Studio in Manhattan and founded the New York Art Theater - Jersey City, N.J., November 7.
Roksolyana Fokshey, 45, dentist and former professor of general dentistry at the University of Medicine in Lviv (1986-1991), and active member of the New Jersey Ukrainian community - Sparta, N.J., November 25.
Tekla Moroz, 78, honorary member of the Ukrainian National Association's General Assembly, longtime UNA leader, chairperson of the Montreal District Committee since 1968, and UNA supreme advisor (1974-2002) - Lachine, Quebec, December 6.
John Spencer, 58, actor of stage, screen and television, whose last current engagement on the award-winning television drama series "The West Wing" as the politico Leo McGarry won him an Emmy in 2002 for best supporting actor in a drama series - New York City, December 16.

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