Rev. olexa  Harbuziuk Legacy

Пастор олекса Романович Гарбузюк

     Olga Opala (Ольга Опала), a member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago, passed away on Friday, October 1, 2021, at the age of 89.

     A funeral service will be held Saturday, October 16,  at 11:00 a.m. at Woodlawn Funeral Home, 7750 West Cermak Road, Forest Park, Illinois.
     Burial will be at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois.

     Condolences are expressed to her relatives.

     Mrs. Galina "Halyna" Shmilikhovska (Галина Шміліховська), a member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago, was called home by her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Thursday, March 25, 2021.

     Sister Shmilikhovska recently had undergone chemotherapy and surgery. She died at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, Illinois. Sister Shmilikhovska was 68 years old.

     Sister Shmilikhovska was born in Moldova. She was baptized by faith in 1970 and was married in Ukraine. She came to America in 2004 and lived in the Portland, Oregon area  before moving to Illinois in 2011 and joining the Ukrainian Baptist Church in Berwyn.

     Her husband, Illya, preaches occasionally. Her daughter, Yelena, who also is a member of the Chicago church, sings in the church choir.

     Condolences are sent to her husband; her daughter; two sons; and other relatives.

     Visitation will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Moss Family Funeral Home, 209 South Batavia Avenue, Batavia, Illinois. Interment will be in West Batavia Cemetery.

Leonard Jankowski, 85, passes on to heaven

Deacon Michael Wozny enters heaven at age 94

     Luba Stelmach (Любов Стельмах), a former member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago, was escorted into heaven on Thursday, August 12, 2021.

     Mrs. Stelmach was born in Ukraine and was 70 years old.

     Sister Stelmach became a member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church (Berwyn) in 1989 after immigrating to America from Estonia in 1988. After a few years, she transferred to the local Pentecostal church.

      Condolences are expressed to her husband, Vladimir, whom she married in 1975; three children; six grandchildren and other relatives.

      Visitation will be held Thursday, August 19, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Bucaro Funeral Home, 485 W. Army Trail Road, Bloomingdale. A funeral service will be held Friday, August 20, at 10 a.m. followed by burial at Wheaton Cemetery.    

Olga Opala, 89, enters her heavenly home

More obituaries may be found on the "Deaths in 2020" page, the "Deaths in 2019" page, the "Deaths in 2018" page, the "Deaths in 2017" page, the "Deaths in 2016" page, the "Deaths 2012-2015" page and the "Deaths Before 2012" page.

     Deacon Michael Wozny (Михайло Возьний), a member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago for about 70 years, went to be with the Lord today (Monday, December 13, 2021). He was 94 years old.
     Brother Wozny was heavily involved in the local church for most of his life. For dozens of years, he served as the church treasurer and the chief deacon (старший диякон). He also was the Sunday School superintendent for a number of years. He sang in the church choir in his younger years.

     Beyond Chicago, Brother Wozny traveled to many annual conferences of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention in the United States. He was elected to several terms as assistant treasurer of the UEBC. He also traveled to many conferences at the Ukrainian Bible Centre in Canada.
     A U.S. Army veteran, he served in Korea in 1953 during the Korean War, according to his family. Deacon Wozny was known to be an avid gardener.
     He was married to his wife, Nina, for 65 years until she died in 2017.

     Condolences are expressed to his daughter Diane (Walter) Teresczenko; a son, Michael (Irene); and another daughter, Betty (Steve) Wozniak; seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
     Funeral arrangements are being handled by Woodlawn Funeral Home & Memorial Park in Forest Park, Illinois. A private graveside service will be held.

Sergiy Gaydakov succumbs to virus in Ukraine

John Malanchuk passes away at age 96

     Tania Zubilewich, a longtime member of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church in Toronto, Canada, was called home by the Lord on January 3, 2021, at the age of 95. She would have been 96 on January 12.

     Born in Ukraine, she ended up in Germany during World War II. Then she immigrated to Canada in 1948.

     At the church, Sister Zubilewich sang in the choir and served on the women's committee. She and her husband, Stephen, were among the founding members of the Ukrainian Bible Centre (Ocela, Оселя) at Pigeon Lake in Canada in 1972.

     Her husband died in 2005. Condolences are sent to her three sons, four grandchildren and other relatives. A memorial service was held January 8.

     Tamila Demyanik, the mother of Ukrainian Baptist leader Paul Demyanik, was called home by her Lord on November 30, 2021 in Sacramento, California. She was 85 years old.
     Rev. Demyanik is president of the All-Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Fellowship (diaspora), president of the Western Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention in the USA and pastor of Living Hope Ukrainian Baptist Church in Vancouver, Washington.
     Sister Demyanik was born in Ukraine and came to America in 1989. She was a member of First Slavic Evangelical Baptist Church in Sacramento, California.
     A service remembering her life was held December 3 at 7 p.m. at Spring of Life Ukrainian Baptist Church, 5948 Pecan Ave., Orangevale, CA 95662 (Sacramento area). A funeral was held December 4.
     Condolences are extended to her children, grandchildren and other relatives. Her husband died in 2017.
     Here are a few words that Rev. Demyanik wrote in the Ukrainian language:
     "Мама моя Таміла Демяник народилась у 1936 році в Вінницькій області в містечку Гнівань. ... Батько її не повернувся з війни, а мама під час війни стала християнкою. Таміла в 1955 році вийшла заміж за Броніслава Демяник і в них народилось семеро дітей. Четверо померли в дитячому віці.  Моя сестра Оксана Поліщук, я і мій менший брат Ярослав живемо в Америці. Батьки з сім'ями сестри та брата приїхали в США в 1989 році в Сакраменто. ... Батько Броніслав відійшов у вічність в лютому місяці 2017 року. ... Церква Джерело Життя, та пастор Сергій Почапський, наш земляк із Вінниці, допомогли нам в похоронах. ... Я прилетів у Сакраменто в вівторок 30 листопада в ранці. Мама ще була жива, але говорити вже не могла. Ще чула, як ми діти прийшли помолились біля неї і попрощались. Через декілька годин, Господь покликав її до вічних осель."

     John Malanchuk (Іван Маланчук), a former member of the First Ukrainian Baptist Church of Seattle, passed away today (Monday, June 21, 2021) after a long illness. He was 96 years old.
     His wife died in 2016 after 47 years of marriage.
     Condolences are expressed to his daughter, Susan, who first cared for her mother and also for her father for many years.

     Kamiliya Morozyuk (Камілія Морозюк), a member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago, went to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Monday, December 20, 2021.

     Sister Morozyuk was 87 years old.

     She emigrated from Ukraine to America in the 1990s.

     Condolences are expressed to her husband, Mark; seven children and many grandchildren.

     A funeral service was held Monday, December 27, at Kuratko-Nosek Funeral Home in North Riverside, with burial at Elmwood Cemetery.

     Caroline Suk, a longtime member of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, was called home by her Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on January 22, 2021.

     Caroline died at age 65, just four days before her 66th birthday.

       Sister Suk served in various capacities in her local church as well as in the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention of Canada, the Western Canada Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Conference, women's and youth committees, and the Evangelical Mission to Ukraine (for which she took 14 trips to Ukraine).

     The funeral was held Wednesday, January 27.

     Condolences are sent to her siblings and other relatives.

God calls Tamila Demyanik to her eternal home

Rev. Dr. John Tkachuk, pastor in Canada, author

Those listed were members or former members of Ukrainian Baptist churches in the United States and Canada, or others who had a connection to those churches. If you have information that you would like to share, please send an email to aharbuziuk@gmail.com

Kamiliya Morozyuk is called home to gloryland

Caroline Suk called home by Jesus at age 65

     Zenon "Zen" J. Pochodenko (Зенон Походенко), who grew up in the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago, 1042 N. Damen Ave., died on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in a traffic accident.

     Zen, 68, was riding his bicycle to his job at a bakery at 5 a.m. when he was struck by a vehicle.

     He was living with his mother, who is 98 years old, and was helping her. His parents and sister immigrated from Germany to the United States in 1949 and eventually settled in Chicago, where Zen was born. Zen visited Ukraine in 1995 with his parents.
     Condolences are sent to his mother, Anna; his sister, Olga Svaldi; his brother, John; two nieces, Stephanie and Natalie; and other relatives.
     Visitation will be held Saturday, February 27, from 10 a.m. to noon at Andersen Morgan Funeral Home  in Franklin Park, Illinois. Burial will be in Elmwood Cemetery in River Grove.

     Leonard Jankowski, who during his teenage years attended the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago and then the First Ukrainian Baptist Church of Minneapolis, has died at the age of 85.

     He suffered a massive stroke while driving to church and died several days later on August 20, 2021, according to his son Steve.

   He studied economics at the University of Minnesota and was a naval aviator from 1957 to 1978.  He was a pilot with Northwest Airlines.

     Brother Jankowski also had a passion to serve his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He contributed to dubbing the "Jesus" movie into different languages, was a founding member of Faith Academy, owned and managed nursing homes, published the Minnesota Christian Chronicle, served on the board of the National Association of Evangelicals for 14 years, and was active in the Christian Business Men's Connection. 

     A viewing will be held Saturday, September 4, at 4 p.m. at Grace Church in Eden Prairie, MN, followed by a celebration of life service at 5 p.m. and a light reception at 6 p.m.

     Condolences are expressed to his sister, Irene; four children, 13 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. His wife died in 2006.

     Sergiy Gaydakov (Сергій Гайдаков), a member of Grace Ukrainian Baptist Church in Warminster, Pennsylvania, entered his eternal home in October 2021 while vacationing in Ukraine.

     Brother Gaydakov was 57 years old. He was visiting in Ukraine when he caught Covid-19 and his heart couldn't cope with the virus. He was buried in Ukraine.

     His wife, Nadiya, died of breast cancer about six months earlier, in March 2021.

     A memorial service was held October 12 at Regeneration Church in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, where his daughters are members.

     Condolences are expressed to the family.

Zenon Pochodenko, 68, dies in traffic accident

Tania Zubilewich, 95, called home by the Lord

Galina Shmilikhovska is home with Jesus

     Peter Golikov (Петр Викторович Голиков), a member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago, went home to be with his Lord today, Friday, January 1, 2021.

     He was 95 years old.

     Brother Golikov was a member since 1997. He faithfully attended church services and was remembered for his friendly smile when greeting people.

     Condoloences are expressed to his wife of 68 years; his daughter, Erina Kuzmenko (Viktor); grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

     The funeral s scheduled for Wednesday, January 13.

Peter Golikov meets his Savior at age 95

Obituaries 2021 /

Посмертні згадки

Retired Crum Lynne, PA pastor enters eternity

Heaven's gates open for Luba Stelmach

     Rev. Dr. John Tkachuk (Іван Ткачук), who served as pastor in several Ukrainian Baptist churches in western Canada, went to be with the Lord on May 20, 2021.

    He was born on April 12, 1926 in western Ukraine. He died at age 95 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

     During World War II, he ended up in a labor camp in Germany. After the war, he attended a Bible college in Germany. He immigrated to Canada in 1947. Later, he attended McMaster University and Divinity School in Hamilton, Ontario, where he met his wife-to-be. They wed in 1951 and were married for 57 years until she died.

     In 1954, Brother Tkachuk accepted a call from the Hyas Baptist Church in Saskatchewan to be their pastor. Over the years, he also served as pastor of Ukrainian Baptist churches in Saskatoon,  Roseau River and Winnipeg. He also held government jobs after studying at the University of Toronto School of Social Work.

     Rev. Tkachuk served for a time as the president of the Ukrainian Baptist Convention of Canada and the Ukrainian Baptist Conference of Western Canada. He wrote three books.

     Condolences are sent to his second wife, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and other relatives.

     A private family burial will be held.   

     Rev. Dr. Vasiliy Kravchuk (Василь Павлович Кравчук), former pastor of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church in Crum Lynne, Pennsylvania, departed into eternity on Tuesday, March 16, 2021.
     Brother Kravchuk succumbed to leukemia at age 77.
     Pastor Kravchuk was ordained in Ukraine in 1995. He earned his doctorate in theology in 1998 in Ukraine and later that year immigrated to America. He became pastor of the Crum Lynne church in 2000. During his pastorate, the church erected a new sanctuary. Brother Kravchuk served as pastor for about 15 years.
     He was preceded in death by his wife, Tanya, in 2014. Condolences are sent to his daughters and other relatives.
     The funeral will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at the church followed by burial.