WILLIAM JERRY SKRYHA

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WILLIAM JERRY SKRYHA William Jerry Skryha, aged 83, passed away on Thursday, July 10, 2014. He was born on November 29, 1930, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to James and Stephania Skryha. William attended the University of Manitoba, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree. After graduating, he married his high school sweetheart, Stanis Kolenda, and they moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1952. One year later, he was inducted into the United States Army during the Korean War. He served in the army for two years. He then went back to college and received his Masters degree in English from the University of Chicago. He taught high school English for five years at Kelly High in Chicago. He moved to Van Nuys, California with his family in 1961, and bought a bookstore. That fall, he started teaching English at Cleveland High School, where he remained at until he retired. His love of Shakespeare led him to enjoy many of the Bard's plays over the years. Throughout his life, he loved to travel and visited many countries throughout the world. He visited relatives in the Ukraine a few times. With his family, he took summer vacations to national parks, Hawaii, Mexico and Canada. He and Stanis enjoyed many trips back to Winnipeg. While a teacher, he took a sabbatical trip to tour Europe where the whole family traveled in a VW camper and returned to the US by ship. William is survived by his loving wife Stanis. They were married for 61 years. He is also survived by his son, Bryan, daughters Vicki (husband Allen), and Terri; and three grandchildren Felix, Peter and Sophi. Also remaining are his sister Vicki Axan (husband Bill, niece Stacy and nephew Brad). Family and friends will gather for a private memorial on July 26, 2014. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the charity of your choice.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jul 23, 2014