GEORGE (YURIJ) HNATIUK

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GEORGE (YURIJ) HNATIUK April 30, 1921 November 5, 2014 Peacefully, after a brief illness, George (Yurij) Hnatiuk passed away in his sleep on November 5, 2014, at Seven Oaks Hospital. George was predeceased by Anna, his beloved wife of over 60 years, in May of 2013. He will be sadly missed by his sons, Oleh, Roman (Judy), and granddaughter, Eaden. George was born April 30, 1921, in Lachiwtzi, in what is now the Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine. In his youth he excelled in school, completing his secondary education at the district Gymnasium, and went on to study medicine. As a young man he also developed a passion for Ukrainian choral music that never wavered throughout his life - a passion that ultimately led him to conduct choir for His Holiness, Pope John Paul II on two separate occasions; the first, in Winnipeg, during the papal visit of 1984, and the second, at the Vatican, in 1988, where Pope John Paul II requested a private meeting with George, and presented him with a Papal Medallion. Sadly, George's academic pursuits were curtailed by the Second World War. After serving briefly as a Lieutenant in the ill-fated Ukrainian National Army, George immigrated to Canada where he was soon reunited with his love, Anna. They married in 1950, and moved to Winnipeg, where he found employment as a carman at C.N.R. In 1955 George joined the Printing Services Department at the University of Manitoba, where he quickly assumed the responsibilities of Director, a position he held until his retirement in 1986. Despite the demands of his career, and of raising a family, he always managed to find time to serve as conductor for student choirs, as well as the Blessed Virgin Mary Church Choir, and later, the Ukrainian Millenium Choir of Winnipeg. His painstaking attention to detail was evident in all his work; as an editor, printer, musicologist, conductor, and woodworker. His community service, which included conducting over 700 panachydas (Ukrainian funeral mass), earned him numerous awards and accolades, including the City of Winnipeg Community Service Award from the Mayor, as well as the Taras Shevchenko Medal, from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. In accordance with father's wishes, cremation has taken place, and a family service will be held in the spring. George was a generous man of uncompromising principle who was always willing to lend a hand, and who would never shirk from responsibility. He was an exemplary member of what renowned journalist, Tom Brokaw, rightly called "The Greatest Generation". VICHNAYA PAM'YAT

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 22, 2014