GEORGE HAWALESHKA

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GEORGE HAWALESHKA Peacefully, in his sleep, on Friday, September 23, 2005 at Holy Family Home, George Hawaleshka, aged 100 years, beloved father of Ostap, after an extraordinary life, left us to his eternal rest. He was born 1905 in Berehomet-nad-Seretom, nestled in the beautiful Carpathian Mountains, in Bukovyna, Ukraine (at the time controlled by Rumania), of parents Stefan Hawaleshka and mother Olena (Kysylytsia) Hawaleshka owners of a large farm and STE-HA dairy products concern. The Hawaleshka family was highly respected, as George's grandfather, when mayor, had donated a large piece of land for the Pidkraj village church and cemetery and, on the family's own expense, built the church for the community's use. After school in Berehomet, high school in Vyzhnytsia and Chernivtsi, George obtained his education degree from the Universities of Chernivtsi and of Bucharest, specializing in geography, history and natural sciences. He was an active member of the Ukrainian students' fraternity Chornomore , rising to the rank of Fuchs-Major . He was always interested in the Ukrainian community and spent his summers educating local area inhabitants about the many aspects of Ukrainian history that were not allowed to be taught in Rumanian governmental schools. Since Rumania, did not allow Ukrainian nationals to work professionally in Bukovyna, George and his young wife Kalyna (Wynnytzka) moved to Bucharest establishing a successful business importing the family's dairy products. Their only son Ostap was born there in 1939. The signing of the German-USSR Molotov-Ribbentropp Pact of Eternal Friendship made it clear to George that his family had no future with the arriving Soviets. They managed to flee via Wroclaw, Poland to Munich, in beautiful Bavaria, settling there for the entire Second World War. There, he pursued studies at the Ukrainian Free University. Having survived the daily Allied bombing raids, hoping for a better life, the Hawaleshka family moved in 1947 to Lyon, France until 1951. George worked there at the Air Liquide plant. The family then applied for emigration as stateless refugees to various countries. Luckily, for them, Canada was the first country that accepted them. As a result, after surviving a major storm in the North Atlantic and after their ship, the Anna Salen - a captured German troopship, saved a Newfoundland fishing vessel, the Hawaleshka family finally arrived on this God-blessed and so generous land of Canada. Settling in Montreal, George worked in various jobs (Canadian Buttons, tavern bar-tender, McGill University residence superintendent) and was director of the Ukrainian school at the St. Sophia Orthodox Cathedral. Once retired, to be closer to his son, George moved to Winnipeg to a lovely house on Bannerman Avenue. Finally, he had the chance to live the next 34 years in a well-earned healthy and peaceful manner. In Winnipeg, he became a beloved and dedicated teacher at several Ukrainian schools: at the Ukrainian National Federation, the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of Sts. Vladimir and Olga and the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity where he was a longtime member of the St. Andrew's Society rising there to its fourth rank. Without doubt, George Hawaleshka was a patriot of his beloved homeland of Ukraine. The 1991 Declaration of Ukrainian Independence and the collapse of the Soviet Union were, to him, events he had worked towards for his entire lifetime! Since 1998, George resided at Holy Family Nursing Home under the extraordinarily gentle, dedicated and loving care of its superb staff. No words can express the gratitude of our family for the care they provided! George leaves his grieving family: in Winnipeg, son Ostap with his wife Tatiana, grandchildren, Adrian Hawaleshka and Natalka Hutsulak with her husband Vladimir and great-grandchildren, Maksym and Nina; his late brother Gabriel's children, Danylo Hawaleshka in Toronto and Doris Hawaleshka in Montreal; in Bavaria, his sister Justina Tarnovetchi with daughter Orysia and family, his late brother Alex's wife Ani with daughters, Sylvia and Martine and their families, his late brother Gabriel's first son Erwin and family in former East Germany; and, in Ukraine, cousins, Stefan and Mykhajlo Buzhora and families with the many members of the Hawaleshka, Buzhora and Kysylytsia clans. The family of George Hawaleshka bids their beloved Father, Grandfather and Great-Grandfather, adieu, and wishes him, in the welcoming earth of Canada, the peaceful sleep he so truly deserved. Vichna Yomu Pamiat'! Prayers were held on Sunday, September 25 at 8:00 p.m. at the Korban Funeral Chapel. Funeral services were held at the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, September 26, with Fathers Very Rev. H. Lakusta and Rev. O. Harkavyj officiating. Burial was at Glen Eden Cemetery. A small reception in memory of George was held at the residence of his son Ostap. The family thanks all those who eased George's passing: everyone who came to the Prayers and Funeral, the members of the Order of St. Andrews who honoured him, the helpful and professional staff of Korban's Funeral Chapel, the pallbearers: Adrian Hawaleshka, Vladimir Hutsulak, Ihor Gawrachynskyj, Bohdan Halkewycz, Yurij Nosyk and Bohdan Smysniuk for the important last service they performed for him, and, finally, the amazing, low-flying V of mournfully honking Canada Geese that suddenly appeared during the burial over his still open grave!

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 28, 2005