Rev. olexa  Harbuziuk Legacy

Пастор олекса Романович Гарбузюк

Engagement photo

Wife -- Sophia

NOT THEIR WEDDING DAY! Sophia and Olexa could not afford to pay a photographer to take pictures at the wedding ceremony, and no one at the wedding had a camera. So the next day, they found someone to take a photo, and Olexa and Sophia dressed up again. And the bride's wedding gown was borrowed.  

Olexa found the love of his life while living in Germany in a displaced persons camp after World War II. He and  Sophia Maksymiuk (Софія Максимюк) were married on October 26, 1946. The officiating pastor was Rev. Z. Rechun-Panko. They were a few weeks short of being married for 51 years when Olexa died on October 4, 1997. They gave birth to seven children: Helen in 1947 and Alex in 1948 in Germany. Five more children came into the world in Illinois: Irene, Leela, Vera, Wayne and Elizabeth.