Olga (Martyniuk) Bobiash
February 4, 1933 (Saskatoon, SK)

A long-time resident of Saskatoon, Olga Bobiash started on her path of organizational and community work in her youth, when she participated in school groups and projects, served on the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchial Youth Executive and held leadership positions at St. George’s Parish.

In 1955 she married Joseph Bobiash and together they raised four sons while farming in the Zelma-Allan area near Saskatoon. Joseph passed away in 1980.

She contracted poliomyelitis in 1949 and at that point commenced a demonstration of what can be expected from an undauntable spirit. First she undertook a program of rehabilitation in Vancouver and Saskatoon. Years later, her experience in this area was put to use with service on the 1979-80 Saskatchewan Provincial Task Force on Rehabilitation and as a board member of the National Canadian Rehabilitation Council for the Disabled. She was one of the first people with polio to be rehabilitated at the Children’s Rehabilitation Centre in Saskatoon.

Olga Bobiash undertook an active life as a wife, mother, farmer and initiator of activities to fulfill the needs of the handicapped. She was instrumental in the formation of the first Indoor Sports Club in Canada, the Handicapped Civilian’s Association for wheelchair sports and social affairs, and the Saskatoon branch of the Provincial Awareness of Post-Polio.

Olga Bobiash served in an executive capacity on many organizations for the disabled at national, provincial and local levels, including the 1981 International Year of Disabled Persons. She provided leadership input for the Saskatchewan Voice of the Handicapped, Saskatchewan Abilities Council, Canadian Paraplegic Association and the Canadian Rehabilitation Council for the Disabled. She also found time for work in her farming profession in groups such as the National Farmers’ Union and the Women’s Institute.

Olga was recognized for her leadership roles by the Canadian Paraplegic Association Merit Award in 1984 and by memorial awards in 1981 and 1988.

Olga Bobiash never allowed her condition to overcome her spirit or faith, but carried her Ukrainian home and church upbringing, with its values and skills, into her challenging future. She has shown how her inheritance made her a model for an area no one would choose or anticipate for themselves.

Petronella (Radomsky) Chepyha
July 2, 1899 (Sniatyn, Western Ukraine) – September 27, 1994 (Saskatoon, SK)

Petronella Chepyha developed an early interest, in her native Ukraine, in theatre and organizational work, which she maintained to her final days. Her education as a teacher was completed in Chernivtsi, where uncertain circumstances influenced her emigration to Canada in 1929. Her marriage to Nykola Chepyha took place shortly after in Saskatoon. She transferred her theatre involvement as an actor and director from Ukraine to the theatre group at St. George’s parish in Saskatoon, fostering an enduring climate for drama. Local choirs also benefited from her outstanding singing talent.

Her involvement with the Ukrainian Women’s Association was also continued in Canada. The newly-formed Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League benefited from her organizational skills when she served in various executive positions from 1949 to 1987, including local and eparchial presidential posts. She also became involved in the publication of the history of the UCWLC, Blessed Endeavors and the organization’s journal, Nasha Doroha. Her commitment was acknowledged by the award of an Honourary Life Membership in the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League of Canada.

Petronella Chepyha’s vision and insight as to the needs of a developing community were demonstrated in her participation as a founding member of various evolving groups such as a Ukrainian museum for the Saskatoon Eparchy (Musée Ukraina Museum), St. George’s Senior Citizens Club and the Women’s Ukrainian Canadian Committee of Saskatoon.

During her long lifetime Petronella Chepyha served as a model of a community activist, and a caring wife and mother, combining religious and cultural activities with an exemplary family life, to the benefit of individuals and groups.

Mary (Kalyn) Ciona
May 28, 1916 (Hafford, SK)

An educator, community activist, dedicated volunteer, generous donor, business woman, knowledgeable resource person, proud mother, and life-long learner, Mary Ciona is a true and outstanding pioneer as well as exemplary role model who has "dedicated herself to enhancing the life of others." Mary Ciona’s life has not been average in any sense of the word. She was born to immigrant parents who, above all, had a strong work ethic, valued education, Ukrainian language, culture and traditions. This highly energetic and multi-talented lady taught school, pursued a higher education, managed and operated the family restaurant, taught Ukrainian language and Sunday School, instructed Ukrainian culinary and folk arts, was involved in Ukrainian and community organizations, and at the same time, with her husband Mike, raised a family of five children.

Mary Ciona takes great pride in her Ukrainian heritage. She was a founding member of the Blaine Lake branch of the Ukrainian Women’s Association of Canada, served in various executive positions at the local, provincial and national levels, and in 1993, she earned an award for Active Cultural Work from the association. She devoted time and untiring energy to numerous community organizations such as the Community Ladies Club, Clinic Ladies Aid, Central School Board trustee, Celebrate Saskatchewan (1980), Saskatchewan Golden Jubilee (1955), Canada’s Birthday (1967), Hafford Music Festival, and IODE. The Blaine Lake History Book, a collaborative community project, in which she was involved as a researcher, serves as a key source of information for families who no longer live in the district. For her involvement and work in local community organizations, she received the Citizen of the Year Award (1992).

Mary Ciona continues to take an active part in maintaining, developing, and promoting all aspects of Ukrainian culture. Her positive outlook on life, keen sense of humour, and willingness to share her knowledge and talents with children and adults has made her a popular and inspiring resource person throughout Saskatchewan. Her goals, hopes and dreams for today and tomorrow focus on supporting and strengthening the church, promoting the importance of family, staying healthy, travelling, and visiting her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Paula Sylvia (Shevchuk) Danylchuk
March 3, 1913 (Foam Lake, SK) – October 14, 1995 (Canora, SK)

A gifted singer, talented musician, enthusiastic choir and orchestra director, script writer, educator, visionary community leader, and dedicated volunteer, Paula Danylchuk was a key initiator of numerous cultural and community events and programs in the Canora area. She completed her teacher training in Saskatoon and quickly became a very highly respected and devoted music teacher whose students consistently won awards for their musical achievements. Early in her musical career, she was a member of the "Songbirds of Ukraine" trio and performed on radio in the first Ukrainian program to be aired in Saskatchewan. The highlight of her musical career was directing the choir of over 100 members in the Saskatchewan Centennial Celebration program in Canora (1992). She especially treasured the recognition she received from the Governor General of Canada and the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan for her contributions to music and the community and the Saskatchewan’s Golden Note Award (1992) for long time service and excellence in music achievement.

Paula Danylchuk was a longtime member of the Ukrainian Women’s Association of Canada in which she held various executive and committee positions, including the presidency at both the local and provincial levels. She was honoured with a 25-year membership scroll and a Life Membership in appreciation of her many years of service in the association. She taught Ukrainian and Sunday School, instructed and guided the Canadian Ukrainian Youth Association (CYMK) branch, and directed Canora’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church Choir for many years. For her dedicated work in the church and with the church choir, she was recognized with the Metropolitan’s Award. She had a keen interest in enhancing Ukrainian language education and applied her knowledge of music and script writing skills to the tape-slide production Some Aspects of Ukrainian Culture for the Department of Education.

Her strong leadership skills were extended to various community organizations including the Canora Figure Skating Club, Canora Hospital Auxiliary, Home and School, Parkland Music Festival, and Canora Recreation Board. Throughout her life, Paula Danylchuk actively developed and promoted her love for Ukrainian traditions, language and music instilled in her by her immigrant parents. Together with her husband, Dr. Alexander Danylchuk, they passed this legacy on to their four children and to the community.

Sister Demetrius (Anastasia Seniuk), SSMI
September 25, 1918 (Ethelbert, MB)

Anastasia Seniuk received her early education in her hometown of Ethelbert, Manitoba. As a Sister Servant she continued her studies with courses in Ukrainian language and religion, and travels to world shrines.

She entered the religious community of the Sister Servants of Mary Immaculate in Mundare, Alberta in 1940, and enjoyed the blessing of celebrating her Golden Jubilee as a religious in 1990. Coincidentally, it was the first Sister Servant, Josephata Hordashevska, who had made her mother’s wedding wreath in Ukraine in 1901.

In her 57 years of service to the church, and Ukrainian and national communities in Canada, New York and England, Sister Demetrius did mission work in Saskatchewan for various periods from 1947 to 1988. She served primarily in Saskatoon.

The religious and professional activities of Sister Demetrius consisted of teaching language, religion and singing traditions. She prepared concerts, entered classes in Ukrainian festivals, and served as a moderator for the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League of Canada. Her legacy is one of exemplary religious and secular service.

Her modelling of liturgical singing has resulted in a continuous supply of leaders of liturgy responses, and church and school choirs. She continues to receive accolades for her contribution to the development of the Ukrainian language curriculum through the Saskatchewan Department of Education and her cooperative participation in the preparation for the 1988 Millennium by the Saskatoon Eparchy.

Sister Demetrius was recognized for her work by the UCWLC of Saskatchewan with an honourary membership. The City of Saskatoon acclaimed her outstanding service to the community with an award of a Century Certificate in 1983.

Sister Demetrius epitomizes, in her person and labour, the essence of the contribution made to the development of Saskatchewan and Canada by the community of Sister Servants. The current vibrant state of various Ukrainian communities is in no small measure due to persons such as Sister Demetrius.

Rose M. (Lazaruk) Dragan
February 26, 1907 (Edmonton, AB) – April 28, 1981 (Saskatoon, SK)

A community leader, dedicated volunteer, artist, author, researcher, Ukrainian handcraft instructor, and exhibit organizer, Rose Dragan served as a catalyst in the Ukrainian and Canadian communities for over 50 years. Her artistic, literary and organizational abilities were extensively utilized during the crucial formative years of Ukrainian community life. She was a founding member and first chairperson of the Ukrainian Museum of Canada established in 1936 in Saskatoon. Rose Dragan expertly assumed responsibility for arranging the first public display of the museum collections, established recording and cataloguing procedures, expanded the collection to include publications, archives and fine arts, directed handcraft and museum projects across Canada, and encouraged donations of artifacts through the press and in personal public addresses. She was a key contributor to the definitive reference publication Ukrainian Embroidery Designs and Stitches (1958), developed a brochure outlining the work of the museum (1955), presented information on the museum on CBC’s Voice of Canada series for airing in Ukraine (1955).

A member of the first national executive of the Ukrainian Women’s Association of Canada, she served in various executive positions and committees in the association’s national, provincial and local branches. Her participation in various Ukrainian and community organizations included: Saskatoon Children’s Aid Society, Saskatoon and Provincial Council of Home and School, Saskatoon Council of Women, Ukrainian Canadian Committee (Congress) Women’s Council, Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral Church Board. She was recognized for her contribution to the community as follows: Life Membership in the Saskatoon Council of Women and the National Council of Women (1958), Honorary Life Membership in the Ukrainian Women’s Association of Canada (1967), Honourary Life Membership in the Ukrainian Museum of Canada (1977), Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History (1977) for work in establishing and developing the Ukrainian Museum of Canada, Award of Merit from the Canadian Museums Association (1981) for leadership shown in the growth of the Ukrainian Museum of Canada, and the Red Cross Button from the Saskatoon Red Cross Society (1946) for organizing wartime aid and activities.

Rose Dragan has left a lasting legacy of print and visual materials, which are a benchmark of excellence in the field of Ukrainian handcrafts. She possessed a sense of design and style and the capability to encourage and transmit these qualities to others. Her legacy also includes a sound organizational base in terms of constitutional and fiscal development within Ukrainian organizations.

Bohdan Kazymyra
October 19, 1913 (Cherniiv, Halychyna, Ukraine)

A historian, educator, librarian, and author, Bohdan Kazymyra attained an impressive level of studies on his way to a multi-faceted career. He is a graduate of Louvain University, 1935 (Master’s in political and sociological studies); Lviv Theological Academy, 1941; University of Vienna, 1955 (Ph. D. in History); McGill, Montreal, Canada, 1956 (Bachelor of Library Science). As an educator, he taught sociology in Lviv, 1942-44, history at the University of Regina from 1969 and in 1963 was appointed professor of sociology at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Rome. He directed the Ukrainian Press Bureau in Brussels and, following his 1950 arrival in Canada, in Edmonton. From 1969 on he worked as a librarian-archivist in Regina.

Professor Kazymyra has made a great impact on the Canadian scene with his prolific writing of scholarly articles in various newspapers and journals on history and socialization of different cultures. His writings on the Ukrainian Catholic Church included such titles as The First Basilian in Canada, Achievement of Metropolitan A. Sheptytsky for Ukrainian Canadians, Early Ukrainian Settlement in Canada, and a series in the learned journal, Logos, on Sheptytsky’s efforts to obtain assistance for Ukrainians in Canada. In 1995 he edited a jubilee book on Ukrainian Catholics in Saskatchewan and, for the Millennium of Christianity in Ukraine, he coordinated a publication of the history of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada.

Dr. Kazymyra was associated with a variety of professional organizations as well as Ukrainian groups. He held executive positions with the Ukrainian Canadian Committee (Congress) and Ukrainian Catholic Councils of Canada and of the Saskatoon Eparchy. His achievements were recognized by medal awards from Rome in 1982 and a Plast Ukrainian scouting award in 1981.

Bohdan Kazymyra’s marriage to Elizabeth Dorotiw produced two daughters and a son. Dr. Kazymyra is recognized for his quiet and persevering work in the community and his devotion to recording Ukrainian Catholic historic roots.

The Honourable Andrew Maurice Kindred
November 25, 1911 (Birmingham, SK) – December 11, 1994 (Saskatoon, SK)

Andrew Kindred was born at a time of great stirrings in his native province of Saskatchewan, which led to an eclectic development pattern for him and the potential for a fulfilling life. He received his early education in Goodeve where, at age 23, he became the high school principal. His brief teaching career was followed by legal studies, which culminated in a law degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1940. A full and rewarding career as a lawyer in Yorkton followed until 1963 when he was appointed to the District Court for the Yorkton judicial centre. In 1981 he became a member of the Court of Queen’s Bench until 1986, having transferred to Saskatoon in 1985.

Around this study and career pattern Andrew availed himself of many opportunities to respond to needs of the community and challenges from his professions. His prowess as an arbitrator was demonstrated in 1966 when Premier Ross Thacher commissioned him to mediate a dispute within the Saskatchewan Power Corporation. He served on some 15 commissions on education legislation. In retirement he represented the UCC-SPC on the University of Saskatchewan Senate.

He initiated community organizations such as the Kinsmen Club, University of Saskatchewan Alumni Association, the Knights of Columbus and the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood, holding top executive posts over the years. In 1957 he spearheaded the establishment of the Yorkton Separate School District. Elected to its first Board of Trustees he was its chairman for six years. He also served on the provincial executive of the Catholic School Trustees Association.

Andrew Kindred’s greatest commitment was to the incorporation of Ukrainian tradition of culture and religion into the education programs of Saskatchewan. The Sacred Heart Academy and St. Joseph’s College, in Yorkton, were his initial focus for this enriched education for young people of Ukrainian background, in western Canada. He worked with others to have the Ukrainian language and religious practices taught in Saskatchewan schools.

A committed family man, Andrew Kindred’s relationship with his family was one of kindness and caring. His 1940 marriage to schoolteacher Adelaide Shalley produced five daughters. Towards the end of his life, he was inspired to write his autobiography so that his children and grandchildren would know the origins of their heritage and traditions.

Wladimir Kossar
November 23, 1890 (Rusyliv, Western Ukraine) – May 12, 1970 (St. Catharines, ON)

Wladimir (Volodymyr) Kossar revealed characteristics of leadership and diverse capabilities yet as a young student and soldier. The son of a teacher in Halychyna he graduated from the Lviv Polytechnic Agricultural Academy in Dubliany (1912) and the Prague University in agricultural engineering, specializing in plant ecology (1923). Interspersed with his studies were teaching and organizational assignments around Ukraine, and stints in the Austrian and Ukrainian armies. Serving as a high-ranking commanding officer in the Ukrainian Halychyna Army he played an active role in the Ukrainian War of Liberation.

In 1927 Mr. Kossar and his wife took up permanent residence in Canada, choosing to come to Saskatoon, a location that seemed to have attracted a predominant number of community activists. This city was described as the cradle of all Ukrainian organizational life in Canada. In this social climate he set to establish roots for his visionary causes. To sustain themselves, the Kossars lived on a farm twenty miles out of Saskatoon where life was hard during a time of drought. Here their children, Leon and Alma, were born. Evenings saw Mr. Kossar in town for organizational work: meetings, planning sessions for expansion across Canada, establishing contacts beyond Ukrainian groups and voluminous correspondence. This work resulted in the formation of the various groups within the Ukrainian National Federation. From 1935, he worked in ecological research at the University of Saskatchewan.

In 1948 he gave up a promising professional career for full-time involvement in Ukrainian affairs which extended well into the sixties. A member of the Ukrainian Military Organization in Ukraine, he founded a division of this group in Canada and served as its leader. When this structure evolved into the Ukrainian National Federation in 1932, under his efforts, he retained the post of president from 1937-54. He was an organizer and long-term auditor for the Ukrainian National Federation. Kossar was instrumental in the formation of the Ukrainian Canadian Committee in 1940, and served as vice-president for many years. He was a director for the Ukrainian Cultural and Education Centre in Winnipeg and the Ukrainian Division of the Canadian Legion. As well, he was a long-term director and editor of the New Pathway newspaper. Under his direction at the UNF many new citizens were brought to Canada after the Second World War.

Wladimir Kossar was imbued with an abiding love for his Ukrainian origins. He well perceived the potential for a vibrant and developing life for Ukrainian people in their new homeland and was prepared to utilize fully his talents and skills at leadership and communication, to this end. In addition to his personal charisma he displayed a caring and selfless aspect that led him to provide for the well-being of colleagues and staff even before himself.

Described as a person of great character and a model of hard work, Wladimir Kossar has been judged to have been a highly worthy individual whose ranks are meagre, indeed, and one who has left behind a commendable legacy.

Nicholas P. Lewchuk
April 30, 1896 (Svedova, Chortkiv, Ukraine) – July 26, 1989 (Canora, SK)

Nicholas Lewchuk was six years old when he immigrated from Ukraine to Mikado, Saskatchewan with his family. Here he endured the hardships common to Ukrainian pioneers. At the age of 14 he learned the art of hypnosis and embarked on a unique and innovative career in the arts and sciences. He was a self-taught professional who developed his diverse and creative artistic interests and talents in the performing arts, photography, design, horticulture, and taxidermy to the highest level possible. His interest in performing magic grew when he was attending a teachers’ seminar for foreigners in Vegreville in 1913-14. As the first magician of Ukrainian origin, his skillful ability in the art of magic and stagecraft was recognized as professional. By 1925, he qualified for membership in the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Later in his career, he was presented with the Order of Merlin Award for his skills and stage performance. As his magic acts and artistic performances increased in popularity, he engaged the support of family members and professional staff to take the highly entertaining vaudeville variety show, midway and circus to all parts of western Canada in the early stages of this province’s development. He became known as Professor Lew’chuk, the Magician.

Mr. Lewchuk was the first travelling pioneer photographer and also painted portrait picture enlargements. Other accomplishments include participating in the local Ukrainian National Theatrical Company, as actor, make-up artist, song and script writer, purchasing a printing press and publishing the New Era Ukrainian magazine, establishing the New Era nursery and seed business, and designing a permanent midway in his backyard. In recognition of his significant contribution to the community, Nicholas Lewchuk was presented with the Canora Community Service Award (1983) and the Canora Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year Award (1982). His most visible artistic and commemorative legacy to Ukrainians is Canora’s 25-foot Welcome Statue, which he designed and constructed with the help of his son, for the Canora Chamber of Commerce. It portrays a unique landmark of artistic beauty and cultural expression. A very comprehensive compilation of his lifetime achievements is recorded in a 360-page history book titled The Life and Work of Prof. N. P. Lewchuk. Together with his wife Nellie, their three sons and four daughters, Nicholas Lewchuk achieved, developed and successfully built the various enterprises through family commitment and a strong work ethic.

Theodore F. Onufrijchuk
February 17, 1904 (Dubechno, Volyn, Ukraine) – May 1, 1989 (Winnipeg, MB)

Academician, horticulturist, landscaping engineer, author, lecturer, and researcher, Theodore Onufrijchuk was a strong-willed and highly ambitious man of numerous talents and a wide range of interests which encompassed religious studies, theology, history, archeology, life sciences, and environmental ecology. He received his primary education in Illintsi in the Kyiv region, his secondary education in Rivne, Volyn, completed his post-secondary studies at Lublin School of Agro-Technology and in the Ukrainian Polytechnical Institute. He began his career in horticulture as Chief Agronomist of the Kholm region before moving first to Germany, where he was retained as a researcher and professorial assistant in the genetics section of the Goethe Botanical Institute in Frankfurt. In 1949, he and his wife Ludmila relocated to Canada, first to Winnipeg where he worked at the Dominion Agricultural Station at the University of Manitoba, as a horticulturist for the city of Winnipeg and, in 1959, to Yorkton where he was employed as the City Horticulturist until his retirement in 1974. In 1962, Mr. Onufrijchuk earned a degree in Landscape Architecture in Des Moines, Iowa and began working as landscaping artist and contractor. He used his knowledge and creative skills in planning and supervising the planting of hundreds of trees and shrubs and thousands of flowers to beautify the city. He was the founder of a botanical garden, where he planted and observed many local, imported, and exotic trees and shrubs.

His research and publications in genetics, and studies in flora in biblical literature and Ukrainian poetry were recognized by the Centro Studi e Ricerde Delle Nazioni (Italy) by his election to the Accademia Italia (1983), Accademia Europa (1984) and a Silver Medal from the International Biographic Association in Britain.

Theodore Onufrijchuk was an active member of the Volyn Research Institute. He left a legacy of some 20 publications, among them works on church history, Saskatchewan history, a book on prairie gardening and one on landscaping titled Landscaping for Modern Canadian Living in the Prairie Provinces (1964), a personal museum of historical Ukrainian artifacts and art, and the beauty of the many trees and shrubs he planted for the enjoyment of the community. At the time of his death, he was preparing research on the mystery of the Turin Shroud and Ukrainian musical and church history.

George Wilfred Simpson
March 24, 1893 (Chatsworth, ON) – March 6, 1969 (Saskatoon, SK)

A widely known historian and community figure, Professor Simpson left a mark on the Ukrainian community in Canada and particularly in Saskatchewan. After graduating from the University of Saskatchewan in 1919 with high honours in History and English, he studied further at the Universities of Toronto, London and Berlin. Appointed to the University of Saskatchewan History Department in 1922, he became a full professor in 1928 and department head in 1940, retiring in 1958. From 1965 he served on the University’s Board of Governors. The University honoured his scholarly and academic achievements by conferring on him an honourary degree in 1959 and establishing an annual award of the Simpson Prize in History.

An honourary degree from the Free Ukrainian University in Munich, in 1947, acknowledged Simpson’s scholastic efforts on behalf of Ukrainians. His 1937-38 class in Slavic History was the first such class to be offered in any Canadian university. He played a major role in 1945 in organizing, in Saskatoon, the first department of Slavic Studies at a Canadian university. His considerable contacts with persons of Ukrainian background during the twenties stemmed from a desire to understand and preserve Saskatchewan’s ethnic communities and led to the development of an empathy for the Ukrainian people, in particular, to the extent that he even learned the Ukrainian language. He published numerous items relative to Ukrainian history, acted as an advisor on Ukrainian matters to Canadian public officials, served as a radio speaker and participated in the negotiations that culminated in the formation of the Ukrainian Canadian Committee (now Congress).

He was the first to edit the English translation of a Ukrainian history in 1939. He published Ukraine – An Atlas of its History and Geography in 1941, and a booklet, Why Learn Ukrainian in 1960, together with numerous articles over the years. He understood the historical value in public and private papers and worked towards the enactment in 1945 of the Saskatchewan Archives Act as the agency for collection and preservation of historical documents.

Professor Simpson was a full member of the Shevchenko Scientific Society from 1948, as well as being included as a member of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences in Canada. He received recognition from the Ukrainian Self-Reliance League of Canada in 1958 and was presented with a Shevchenko Medal in 1961.

The broad Ukrainian community was uplifted in spirit and status by Professor George Simpson’s presence, writings and educational and lobbying efforts. His scholarly work and achievements have been to the benefit of a whole country, and firmly established his place as a Ukrainian scholar.

John D. Stratychuk
April 4, 1903 (Canora, SK) – April 26, 1977 (Saskatoon, SK)

John Stratychuk, a human and civil rights activist, community leader, organizer, adult and youth educator, was widely known as a friend of the oppressed, the exploited, the poor, the disadvantaged, and the discriminated. He began his professional career with the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool upon completing his education in Canora. As he progressed in the company, his role became that of translator of speeches from the Wheat Pool and other sources into Ukrainian for publication in newspapers. Also, he began instructing young people in predominantly Slavic settlements in Pool policy, the responsibility of citizenship and the concept of 4-H clubs. (John Stratychuk played a key role in founding the Saskatchewan Association on Human Rights and the Canadian Federation of Civil Liberties and Human Rights Association.)

He was deeply involved at national, provincial and local levels in the fields of co-operative development, human and civil rights, citizenship, multiculturalism, adult education, youth development, and equal opportunity. An early champion of the multicultural principles now forming the basis for federal and provincial government policies, John Stratychuk helped organize a Canadian committee on immigration and migration, whose proceedings were published by the Canadian Institute of Public Administration. He served in various capacities on the Saskatchewan and Canadian Associations for Adult Education, Saskatchewan Rural-Urban Programming Committee, Saskatchewan Farm Forum Radio Council, the Saskatoon Citizenship Council and the Saskatchewan Council of Public Affairs. In recognition of his tireless efforts, he was the recipient of the International Cooperative Year Medal (1966) and a Canadian Centennial Medal (1967). During 40 years employment with the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, first as fieldman and later as director of the Extension Division, he organized over 30 credit unions and 20 local co-ops across the province. He also initiated and developed co-op schools for young people.

Particularly noteworthy is John Stratychuk’s long service in the Ukrainian community locally, provincially and nationally. He served as national president of the Ukrainian Self-Reliance League of Canada, member of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada Consistory Board, board chairman of the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Saskatoon, executive member of Mohyla Institute’s Board, and president of the Saskatchewan Provincial Council of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

John D. Stratychuk and his wife Jean raised two children. He was noted for his beautiful tenor voice and excellent skills as a cantor. He was also a role model and mentor to many colleagues and young people with whom he worked, and is fondly remembered by his colleagues and friends as "Pop Stratychuk."

Dr. Wasyl Yashan
January 2, 1894 (Serafyntsiv, Horodenka, Halychyna) – March 12, 1978 (Toronto, ON)

Dr. Yashan enjoyed a fulfilling career as an inspirational community activist, a lawyer, administrator, and cooperator, living for extended periods both in Ukraine and Canada. Wherever he found himself, he immersed himself in the community, cultural and economic life of the people.

He commenced studies in law and political science in Lviv, but World War I intervened. After moves to Prague and Krakow he achieved a Doctor of Laws at the Krakow University. During this time, his war service was rewarded with medals of valour and service. He was married to Emilia Olesnichko and they had a daughter and a son.

His administrative skills were utilized in Halychyna during the German occupation and in Austria during the refugee period.

Wasyl Yashan commenced his work with cooperatives when he opened his first law practice in Horodenka, where he became legal advisor and director of a regional cooperative organization. This experience culminated in his credit union work following his move to Canada in 1949. During his 19-year tenure with the New Community Credit Union in Saskatoon he placed a strong emphasis on his views of strength in community solidarity and the importance of marketing services and a belief in the credit union movement. His efforts produced the all-inclusive participation in this Ukrainian financial institution of the four major Ukrainian community groups. He spoke at many gatherings on the potential for security provided by credit union services and the importance to the community of the fraternal features of the institution.Upon his retirement, Dr. Yashan was cited by the Board of Directors for "his exemplary work and efficient leadership." His final financial statement, in 1974, showed assets over three million dollars. His final recommendation was for the acquitision of real estate for the erection of a new, modern building for the New Community Credit Union.

Dr. Yashan found time to produce many articles and books on his memoirs of his life and adventures in Ukraine, and the history of the Ukrainian Army of Halychyna as well as the Horodenka area. He also wrote for credit union and cooperator publications. He edited the 25th anniversary year for the New Community Credit Union. A 1996 book from Lviv, by Wasyl Lyzanchuk, pays tribute to Yashan’s work in Ukraine and records his thoughts on the importance of sustaining a free and independent Ukraine.

Wasyl Yashan will ever be known for the seeds of national consciousness and worthiness, sown by his deeds in the arena of commentary on community, politics, and history.