SONJA BEJZYK (MANDZIUK)

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SONJA BEJZYK

It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that our family announces the passing of our Aunty Sonja Bejzyk (nee Mandziuk) on October 23, 2022, at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg.
Left to cherish her memory are husband, Ole Bejzyk, of 56 years of marriage, nieces, Tammy (Paul) Kochanski and Tanya (Cameron) Zemianski, great-nieces and nephew, Paige and Brendan Kochanski and Alicia and Emma Pow.
Sonja was born on September 30, 1932, in the small town of Oakburn, Manitoba. Upon graduating high school, Sonja ventured out to the city of Winnipeg, enrolling in the University of Manitoba, completing two degrees, a Bachelor of Arts, and Bachelor of Education.
It was within her move to Winnipeg, that she found what she thought would be her lifelong passion, teaching. These early formative years created a foundation of her life that revolved around caring and helping others. Sonja's professional career in education, led her to becoming the department head of Mathematics at Miles Macdonell Collegiate, and she was dedicated to teaching AP Mathematics for over 30 years. Testament of her skills are still evident, as many adults that were lucky enough to have Sonja as a teacher, still remember and express that she was the best teacher they ever had. Even well into retirement, Sonja was able to tutor family members through university level math courses!
While teaching at Miles Macdonell Collegiate, Sonja met and married Ole Bejzyk, and together they created an enriched and loving homestead on Southmoor Road, in Niakwa Park. They both prided themselves on maintaining their large garden and had a passion for harvesting and sharing all the abundant vegetables they grew. Throughout their time together, Sonja and Ole spent many summers adventuring to their cottage in Pinawa Bay, Lac Du Bonnet, and winters hitting the open road in their RV to enjoy the sun in Florida.
Out of all of life's distractions, the thing that Sonja loved most was family. Sonja did not have children of her own, but happily took on the role of second mom to Tammy and Tanya and was actively involved in their upbringing. She was ever present for all activities, events, and eager to share her experiences in life to help guide the girls to become strong and independent women.
One of the biggest and most influential relationships in Sonja's life was her sister Darcia. They were "attached at the hip" throughout their lives, as well as retirement years. Whether in the early years it was their weekly trip to Eaton's, vacations to Mexico and Florida, evenings at the casino, or family gatherings at the lake, never did a day go by with Sonja and Darcia calling each other numerous times during the day. Where one was, the other was sure to be close by. Sonja was deeply saddened when Darcy passed five years ago, leaving a deep void that was never replaced.
Sonja was fortunate to retire in her late 50s, but she did not move on to "peaceful pastures", instead her next journey in life began. In her life, she had two main guiding principles, her faith, and her Ukrainian heritage. These would formulate her next 20 years, of what would become an amazing legacy of accomplishments, of which we are so proud.
Sonja was not a person to have idle time, she was the opposite, immersing herself in volunteering in her church and community. Sonja in her "Golden Years" took on new leadership roles, pioneering and paving the way, as many were non-traditional for women. She became the first woman to hold the office of the President of the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral, and also served as the President of the Ukrainian Women's Association of Canada (Holy Trinity).
In addition, Sonja's desire to support her heritage led her to get involved with many Canadian Ukrainian organizations that supported Ukrainian culture in Canada. She served on the Board of Directors, as well as chaired the board, for St. Andrew's College for many years. Sonja also served as the Vice President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, was a chairperson of the Education Committee of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Headquarters, as well as President of the Ukrainian Canadian Women's Committee National Executive. In addition to all her existing leadership roles, she also served as President of the Ukrainian Voice newspaper, which at the time was the longest standing Ukrainian Newspaper in Canada.
In 2012 Sonja was turning 80 years old, and on April 17 of the same year, she received, as a result of the culmination of all her lifelong work and caring for the community, one of the highest accolades available in Canada. On this date, Sonja was invited to Rideau Hall in Ottawa to be presented with the Governor General Award for Caring Canadians for her work with Ukrainian culture and leadership of Women in the Ukrainian community. Sonja was humbled, and we her family were extremely proud of this, and all her accomplishments.
In her last few years, Sonja was a resident of the Holy Family Home, where she enjoyed the simpler days socializing with staff and fellow residents.
Sonja will be deeply missed, and our family was blessed to have her as an aunt, great-aunt, sister, and spouse in our lives. Sonja's contributions within our community will live on within the students she taught, volunteers and organizations she led, and the Ukrainian culture groups she supported.
Funeral services took place on Friday, October 28, 2022 through Glen Eden Funeral Home.

Vichnaya Pamyat

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 29, 2022