Rev. olexa Harbuziuk Legacy
Пастор олекса Романович Гарбузюк
Rev. Walter Sauchuk (Володимир Савчук) in 2011 while attending the 66th annual conference of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention at the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church in Crum Lynne, Pennsylvania.
Rev. Michael Jakubovich (Михайло Якубович), a member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church in North Port, Florida, was called home by the Lord today (Wednesday, December 9, 2020) at the age of 85. He died from Covid-19. He also suffered from Parkinson's disease.
Brother Jakubovich, who also was known among Americans as Michael Gordon, was a beloved and respected servant of the Lord in all the churches and church associations at which he was involved in various capacities.
Rev. Jakubovich’s first pastorate was in East Pittston, Maine (near Gardiner); then he was pastor in Manchester, New Hampshire; then in North Port, Florida.
He also served for 30 years as treasurer of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention in the U.S. and for nearly as many years as treasurer of the All-Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Fellowship (diaspora).
Michael was born in Ukraine in 1935. He was baptized in a Ukrainian Baptist church in Munich, Germany in 1948 along with his parents and others. The family left Germany from the port of Breman in September 1949 and arrived in a small town in New York, where a church was the sponsor for the family. After a few months, the family moved to Erie, Pennsylvania, then after six months Michael came with his family to Chicago and joined the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago. The family moved again, this time to the state of Maine in June 1952.
Michael served in the U.S. Army in 1957-58, being stationed in Germany.
He met Ella Manahariw at a Ukrainian church conference and they married in June 1959.
Michael worked as a biochemist at the Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute in Chicago.
Brother Jakubovich was deeply involved at the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago. He sang bass in the choir, taught a Sunday school class, was a deacon, recorded solos for the radio program broadcast into Ukraine and was treasurer of that radio committee. He also served as president of the USA youth association for several years and was editor of the youth magazine.
In 1970, Brother Jakubovich and his family moved to Maine, where he became lay leader of the Ukrainian Baptist Church in East Pittston and also operated a chicken farm. He was ordained as a minister on Nov. 30, 1975. The congregation first met in the home of Michael's parents. Later, the parents purchased a former one-room schoolhouse and it was remodeled for use as a church building. The parents deeded the building to the congregation for free, according to Michael's brother. At its high point, the church numbered 35 members.
Mike was the coordinator of the third world congress of the All-Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Youth Association, which was held August 20-25, 1979 at the Evangelical Baptist Camp near Ashford, Connecticut.
When a new wave of immigrants from Ukraine settled in Manchester in the early 1990s, Rev. Jakubovich traveled about two-and-a-half hours one way to serve the congregation at least once a month.
He retired to North Port, Florida in 2001, and eventually was asked to become pastor, which he did for about 10 years. He also sang in the choir.
His wife, Ella, preceded him in death this year on July 1. Condolences are extended to his daughter, Ruth (who helped care for her parents in their later years); his son, David; two grandchildren; two step-grandchildren and a brother, Ivan.
A closed-casket funeral service is scheduled for Monday, December 14, at 2 p.m. at Sarasota National Cemetery in Florida. Burial will follow. Social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines will be in effect.
A memorial service will be held Sunday, December 20, at 5 p.m. at the Ukrainian Baptist Church, 3950 Wall Lane, North Port, Florida.
John "Jerry" Shep (Ярослав Шепелявець), who grew up in the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago and later became a Lutheran pastor, died June 25, 2020.
He battled cancer for a while and recently contracted pneumonia. He was 73 years old.
He studied at Minnesota State University, Mankato and earned his master of divinity degree in 1973 from Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary in Mankato.
Rev. Shep founded the "Thoughts of Faith" radio ministry and broadcast programs in the Ukrainian language into Ukraine and the Soviet Union and later into the former Soviet Union from 1978 to 2000.
Brother Shep was bishop of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church, headquartered in Kyiv, from 1992 to 2000. He served at several Lutheran churches in the United States, most recently in Stoughton, Wisconsin.
He was born in Germany in 1947 and came to America with his parents in 1950, settling in Chicago.
Condolences are sent to his wife, Naomi; four children; a grandchild; a sister; two brothers and other relatives. A private funeral service will be held Monday in Wisconsin, followed by interment. A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Valentina Kocepula enters heaven at age 84
Gene Barchuk in 2018
This photo is of Jaroslaw Bylen in his younger years, circa 1972.
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
Michael Jakubovich, pastor, association officer
Rev. Urii Maruschak (Юрій Марущак), former pastor of the First Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, fell asleep in the Lord on Thursday, September 24, 2020. He was 90 years old.
As a member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Minneapolis for about 25 years, Brother Maruschak served as a Sunday School teacher, deacon and church secretary.
When the church merged with the First Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church of Minneapolis, he was ordained as a minister and served as pastor from 1992 to 2007.
Pastor Maruschak was known for his warm and friendly personality, as well as his devotion to Jesus Christ and His church.
Urii was born on June 29, 1930 in Harbin, China (Manchuria). In 1953, the family emigrated to Sao Paulo, Brazil, and joined the First Ukrainian Baptist Church of Sao Paulo. Urii was baptized in 1954. Then he fell in love with a beautiful young lady that he saw singing in the church choir. They married in 1957.
The Maruschak family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1961 and to Minneapolis in 1966.
Rev. and Mrs. Maruschak moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 2007 to live near their daughter and son-in-law.
Condolences are sent to Wira, his loving wife of 63 years; their daughter, Lilia Kearney (husband Tim); their son, Leon (wife Nancy); and other relatives.
Visitation will be held Saturday, October 3, from 1 to 2 p.m. at Socastee Baptist Church, 3690 Socastee Blvd., Socastee, SC 29588, followed by a service. Burial will be at Hillcrest Cemetery in Conway, SC.
Alexander Vygovsky.
Nicolas Puczek (Микола Пучек), a former member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago, died Saturday, February 15, 2020.
Brother Puczek was 82 years old. He suffered from Parkinson's disease for several years.
Interestingly, he was born on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean while his family was on its way to South America in October 1937. The family took a train from Ukraine to France, then boarded a ship.
Brother Puczek came to Chicago in February 1966. In 1968, he went to Argentina, where he met his future wife. They married on May 1, 1969. They moved to Chicago in 1970. They were members of the Ukrainian Baptist Church until the summer of 1982.
Condolences are expressed to his wife Olga Cristina; three sons, David Abel and Mark; seven grandchildren; eight sisters (Louise, Maria and Tanya in the U.S., one in Spain and four in Argentina); and other relatives.
Visitation will be held Sunday, February 23, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Bethel Community Church, 7601 W. Foster Ave., Chicago, IL 60656. Visitation also will be held Monday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., followed by a service at the church. Burial will be in a nearby cemetery.
Alexander Vygovsky (Александр Виговський), a former member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago, passed on to eternity on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 at his home near Erie, Pennsylvania.
He was born in Korosten, Ukraine. He celebrated his 91st birthday last April. He was a member of the Chicago church in the early 1990s.
His wife, Antonina, died in 2015. Condolences are sent to two sons, a daughter, 12 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held Friday evening at the Dusckas Funeral Home in Erie. A funeral service will be held Saturday, February 1, followed by interment at Laurel Hill Cemetery.
Sergey Vasilishin (Сергій Василишин), a member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago, was called home by his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Saturday, April 11, 2020.
Brother Sergey dealt with a diagnosis of stomach cancer for 14 months and succumbed at the age of 49.
Brother Sergey was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, where he married in 1992. He came to America in 1994.
Funeral services will be private.
Condolences are expressed to his wife, Roksolana; his parents, Lydia and Pavlo; a sister, Antonina; and other relatives.
Nicolas Puczek arrives in heaven at age 82
Shtuka
More obituaries may be found on 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.
Jaroslaw Bylen (Ярослав Билень), who was the longtime librarian at the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago, passed away on Sunday, June 7, 2020. He was 96 years old.
Brother Bylen was a member of the church since 1958. In his younger years, Brother Bylen was very active in church life. He organized the church library in June 1963 and managed it for more than 40 years, first at the Damen Avenue location and then in suburban Berwyn. He also packaged and shipped many Bibles and books to Ukraine and other countries where Ukrainians lived.
He served as administrator of the "Messenger of Truth" magazine ("Післанець Правди") for decades, starting in 1970. Among his other volunteer efforts in church, Brother Bylen organized a Ukrainian school for children, organized a branch of the Ukrainian National Association (fraternal group) in 1967 and served as church secretary for eight years.
According to his son, Jaroslaw Bylen "was born on January 3, 1924 in Pustomyty (Пустомити) in what is now western Ukraine. At the time the area was part of easternmost Poland. Soon after the 1939 partition, the area came under harsh Soviet repression. A few years later, Germany launched an attack against the Soviet Union and occupied vast portions of Ukraine. In 1943, he enlisted in a unit of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Українська повстанська армія) as a partisan fighter against both Nazi and Soviet occupiers."
He met and married his wife, Nina, in France. She died in 2006.
Condolences are sent to his son, Peter; daughter, Lidia Abbasi; grandchildren and other relatives.
A private visitation and funeral service will be held Wednesday for the family at Muzyka & Son Funeral Home. Interment will be at Elmwood Cemetery.
Walter Majewsky, who attended the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago with his parents while growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, died Sunday, November 29, 2020, at Carteret Health Care in North Carolina.
He was 72 years old.
Walter served in the U.S. Marine Corps and worked as an electrician. Condolences are expressed to his wife, Margaret; his sister, Regina Bereza; his brother, Bill; and other relatives.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, December 2, 2020 at Life Point Church in Morehead City, North Carolina.
Photo copied from "The Messenger of Truth" (Післанець Правди) magazine.
The Lord Jesus Christ called home the Rev. Walter Sauchuk (Володимир Савчук) today (Saturday, September 5, 2020) after his life of faithful service to the Lord.
Rev. Sauchuk was a member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church in North Port, Florida, which he founded more than 30 years ago. Previously, he was the pastor of Ukrainian Baptist churches in Brooklyn, New York, and St. Petersburg, Florida. He also directed the choirs of those churches. He had a unique flair for leading congregational singing.
Brother Sauchuk, who was born in Argentina in 1936, was 83 years old. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer about four years ago.
Brother Sauchuk graduated from the Ukrainian Bible Institute in Argentina and later became an instructor there. He married Julia in 1964. In 1967, he was elected secretary of the South American Association of Ukrainian Evangelical-Baptist Churches. He organized the first world congress of the All-Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Youth Fellowship (diaspora), which was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1974.
He was a frequent contributor of articles and poems in the "Messenger of Truth" magazine (Післанець Правди). Many of his articles focused on youth activities and achievements of young people in the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention of churches in the U.S.
Condolences are extended to his wife of 56 years, Julia; their son, Rev. Sergio Sauchuk; their daughter, Miriam; and other relatives.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 12, at 4 p.m. at the
Ukrainian Baptist Church, 3950 Wall Ln., North Port, FL 34287.
Rev. Sauchuk's wish was that instead of flowers the money would be directed to mission work in Paraguay. Checks may be written to "Ukrainian Baptist Church" memo: Mission to Paraguay and mailed to Julia Sauchuk, 12324 Alta Mira St., North Port, FL 34287.
John Shulgach, church treasurer, meets his Lord
Yaroslav Rischak (Ярослав Рищак), a member of the First Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church of Philadelphia, was called home by his Savior on Monday, October 19, 2020.
Brother Rischak was 74 years old. He was born in Ukraine and immigrated to Philadelphia in 1990. He sang in the main choir and the men's choir.
Condolences are expressed for his wife, daughter, son, grandchildren and other relatives.
A celebration of Brother Rischak's life will be held Saturday, October 24 at 9 a.m. at the church, 9610 Northeast Avenue, Philadelphia.
Burial will follow in Union Cemetery, Richboro, Pennsylvania. Livestream will be available at the 1stUEBC of Philadelphia YouTube channel.
Ella Jakubovich (Алла Якубович) was active in several Ukrainian Baptist churches in the United States and also the women’s ministries of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention for many years.
The Lord called her home today (Wednesday, July 1, 2020) at the age of 80 after she battled cancer for several years. She also was known as Ella Gordon in the American world.
Ella was born in Ukraine. She emigrated with her family from Germany to the state of Idaho in 1950, then to Chicago, where she met and married Michael Jakubovich.
Sister Gordon was a member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago for a number of years in the 1950s and 1960s and sang in the choir. Eventually, she moved with her family to the state of Maine, where her husband became the pastor of the Ukrainian Baptist Church in Gardiner. Upon retirement, she and her husband moved to Florida, where Ella sang in the choir of the Ukrainian Baptist Church in North Port.
Her involvement with the women’s fellowship of the UEBC included serving as president from 1999 to 2002 and before that as treasurer and assistant secretary. During her time as president, she edited a newsletter for the sisterhood and produced a songbook (“Алилуя”) of more than 120 choruses (2001).
Condolences are expressed to Michael, her husband of 61 years; daughter, Ruth; son, David; and grandchildren and other relatives.
A funeral will be held Thursday, July 9, at Sarasota National Cemetery. A memorial service is scheduled for Sunday, July 12, at 6 p.m. at the Ukrainian Baptist Church in North Port, 3950 Wall Lane.
Rudenko
Eugene Barchuk enters heaven at age 80
Gene Barchuk in 1950s
Ivan Rudenko, choir member and deacon
Rev. John Shep, Lutheran bishop, broadcaster
Alex Shtuka welcomed to heaven at age 102
Rev. Urii Maruschak is with the Lord at age 90
Rev. Maruschak in 2012. (Thanks to daughter Lilia for providing this photo.)
Ann Bandura enters into presence of Jesus
Eugene "Gene" Barchuk (Євген Барчук), a former member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago, died today (August 14, 2020) in Florida.
Brother Barchuk, who was 80 years old, had been dealing with Alzheimer's disease.
Brother Barchuk was born in 1940 in Poland. The Barchuk family ended up in Germany during World War II. Eugene, with his parents and four siblings, arrived in Chicago in December 1949. His father, Rev. John Barchuk, became the assistant pastor at the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago.
Condolences are expressed to Gene's wife, their children and grandchildren, and other relatives.
Ella Jakubovich, active in women's ministries
Alexander Vygovsky enters eternity at age 91
Sergey Vasilishin is called home by the Lord
Jaroslaw Bylen, longtime church librarian
Vasilishin
Alex Shtuka (Штука), a longtime member of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church in Toronto, Canada, died today (Sunday, August 30, 2020) in a long-term-care facility. He was 102 years old.
He was born in Ukraine and lived in Germany from 1939 until immigrating to Canada in 1957.
Brother Shtuka sang in the church choir for many years. For several decades, he enjoyed attending conferences at the Ukrainian Bible Centre, where he owned a summer cottage.
Condolences are sent to his son, Dan; two daughters, Nadia and Ann; grandchildren and other relatives. His wife died in 2008.
A funeral and burial will be held Friday, September 4.
Ann Bandura
Yaroslav Rischak falls asleep in the Lord
2016
Puczek
Obituaries 2020 /
Посмертні згадки
Ella Jakubovich
John Shulgach, a longtime member of the First Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church of Levittown Pennsylvania, went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.
He was born in Ukraine 92 years ago. As displaced persons, his family moved to Brazil after World War II. They immigrated to the United States in 1955. Brother Shulgach served as church treasurer for many years.
His wife, Nadia, died in 2018. They were married for 63 years. Condolences are sent to his daughter, Lili; a son; grandchildren and other relatives.
A private family funeral service was held at Winowicz Funeral Home in Trenton, New Jersey. Burial followed in the family plot in Morrisville Cemetery.
Mrs. Kocepula
Walter Sauchuk, 83, pastor of three churches
Valentina Kocepula (Валентина Коцепула), a former member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago, passed into eternity on Friday, February 21, 2020 at the age of 84.
Mrs. Kocepula's husband, Anton, died in 2005. Sister Kocepula was born in Belarus.
Visitation will be held Wednesday from 8 to 10 a.m. at Muzyka Funeral Home, 2157 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, followed by a service. Interment will be in Elmwood Cemetery in River Grove.
Condolences are expressed to her nephew, Pavel Chtcherba, who is a member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago; to her stepdaughter, Vera Patrick, and to other relatives.
Walter Majewsky enters eternity at age 72
Ann Bandura (Анна Бандура), a former member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago, died Friday, January 3, 2020. She was 93 years old.
Sister Bandura, her husband and their daughter came to the United States in 1949 from a refugee camp in Cornberg, Germany. They settled in Chicago and joined the Ukrainian Baptist Church.
Mrs. Bandura had been living in Texas for many years. Her husband, Victor, died in 2000. Their daughter, Vera, died in 2010 at age 64.
Funeral arrangements were pending.
Ivan Rudenko (Іван Денисович Руденко), a member of the Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago, succumbed to cancer on Saturday, May 16, 2020.
He was 70 years old.
Brother Rudenko, who emigrated from Ukraine to Chicago in 1992, was a deacon and sang in the church choir and also the men's choir.
Condolences are sent to his wife, Valentina; his son, Max; his daughter, Natalya; his sisters and other relatives.
A funeral service that was streamed via Zoom was held Thursday, May 21, at Kuratko-Nosek Funeral Home in North Riverside.