ROMA SOFIA MARTYNOWYCH

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ROMA SOFIA MARTYNOWYCH (née DOBRZANSKA) After a brief struggle with cancer and a seven year battle with dementia and Alzheimer's disease, our mother and grandmother, Roma Martynowych, passed away at Holy Family Home on November 14, 2012. She will be lovingly remembered by son Orest; daughter Tania Duff; granddaughter Alana Duff; nephews Andrew (Sheryl) and Roman (Kristin) Stoykewych and their families, and friends and relatives in Canada, the United States and Europe. Roma was born on January 19, 1926 in Khodoriv, Ukraine (then part of Poland) to a Ukrainian mother (Maria Tsikhivska) and a Polish father (Tomasz Dobrzanski). She received her primary and secondary education, and studied piano, in her hometown and in the city of Lviv. The Second World War and the Holocaust, which took the lives of some of her closest Jewish, Polish and Ukrainian friends, left Roma with vivid and poignant memories and a lasting antipathy for ideologies and movements that fuelled prejudice, intolerance and bloodshed. In 1948, after three years in a Displaced Persons camp in Regensburg, Germany, Roma and her mother came to Canada as refugees and settled in Winnipeg. A year later, Roma married Bohdan Martynowych, with whom she had fallen in love in Regensburg. Roma was a loving, selfless and compassionate woman. She was always prepared to make sacrifices for her children, and she looked after her ailing husband for many years before he succumbed to heart disease in 1978. Employed in the garment and fur industries for more than 30 years, she also found the energy to be a model homemaker. She worshipped at Sts. Vladimir and Olga Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral for 60 years and was a member of the Ukrainian Reading Association Prosvita'. After retiring, Roma enjoyed playing the piano, reading novels, gardening, indulging her weakness for chocolate, and playing with her granddaughter Alana, who brought much joy into her life. Preparing gourmet meals for family gatherings, and baking pies, tortes, and a delicious Viennese apple strudel were also favourite pastimes. Roma's borsch with mushroom dumplings (ushka) and her light and crunchy khrustyky, served only on Christmas Eve, were savoured annually by her extended family. Roma will be missed but never forgotten. She will always have a special place in our hearts. Roma's children would like to thank the staff on the 3rd floor of Holy Family Home, all of the volunteers, and Dr. Taras Babick, for their care and compassion during the past two years. Prayers will be sung at 7:00 p.m., Monday, November 19 at Korban Funeral Chapel, 907 Main St. Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, November 20 at Sts. Vladimir and Olga Cathedral, 115 McGregor St. with Rt. Rev. Msgr. Mitrat M. Buyachok officiating. Interment will follow in All Saints Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Roma's memory to Holy Family Home, 165 Aberdeen Ave., Winnipeg MB, or to a charity of one's choice. VICHNAYA PAMYAT KORBAN FUNERAL CHAPEL 204-956-2193
Publish Date: Nov 17, 2012

ROMA SOFIA MARTYNOWYCH (née DOBRZANSKA) Peacefully on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at Holy Family Home, Roma Martynowych, aged 86 years. Prayers will be sung at 7:00 p.m., Monday, November 19 at Korban Funeral Chapel, 907 Main St. Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, November 20 at Sts. Vladimir and Olga Cathedral, 115 McGregor St. Interment will follow in All Saints Cemetery. Further obituary on Saturday. KORBAN FUNERAL CHAPEL 204-956-2193
Publish Date: Nov 16, 2012

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 17, 2012