Myroslawa Wanio

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved and immensely adored family matriarch, Myroslawa (“Myrosia”) Wanio, who peacefully entered eternal rest at home with family late in the evening on March 13, 2024 at the age of 74.

Myrosia was the quintessential wife, mother and grandmother. She was tirelessly devoted to the people she loved, and she poured her heart and soul into loving and caring for her family. She is survived by her husband of 52 years, Kenneth; daughter Roma and her husband Patrick Ferriter; daughter Lara Bevacqua; and five granddaughters, Mia and Vivienne Bevacqua, and Téa, Siena and Charlize Ferriter. Nothing brought her greater happiness than her grandchildren, except maybe the family dog Joey, who would lay on her lap daily in her final year of life.

Myrosia is also survived by her brother, Steven and his wife Marta Kowaliw and their children and grandchildren, with whom Myrosia and her family celebrated almost every holiday and milestone. She is preceded in death by her parents, Roman and Bronyslawa Kowaliw.

Myrosia was born on November 30, 1949 in Manhattan, New York. She was raised in the East Village and attended Saint George School and Cathedral High School. Naturally bright and driven, she excelled academically and went on to attend and graduate with honors from The City University of New York. After years of teaching mathematics, she returned to school and earned her Master’s Degree in Computer Science from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, all while working full-time, raising her two daughters and taking care of her elderly parents. She did it all, and her efforts resulted in a successful career at UPS spanning over 20 years . While at UPS, she was well-respected as a project leader and computer systems programmer and analyst on the executive campuses in Mahwah, NJ and Ramsey, NJ. Soon after she became a grandmother, however, she decided it was time to retire, leaving the corporate world to spend more of her time creating memories with her grandchildren.

Myrosia always became a master of everything she enjoyed to do, especially gardening and cooking. Each spring, she and her husband could be found working together in their backyard all weekend long to create an oasis for the whole family to enjoy. She also loved to swim with her husband, whether it was in their backyard pool or when they would swim around the entire lake in her beloved Ukrainian summer community of Narrowsburg, even into their seventies. That lake was definitely her happy place.

Myrosia also enjoyed a good book, a solid movie, prime time television and, of course, General Hospital and The Golden Bachelor.

Myrosia had a very special place in her heart for Plast, a Ukrainian Scouting Organization which aims to raise exceptional citizens of Ukrainian society by instilling Christian faith and loyalty to Ukraine. Myrosia had very fond memories created as a “Plastunka” when she was a child. When she became a mother, she took on leadership positions within her local Plast branch to help instill these values and create these same experiences for her own children as well as other Ukrainian children in the community. She remained a lifelong member of Plast through her involvement in her beloved “Chortopolokhy” sorority. Through this sisterhood, she remained lifelong friends with the same women she met as a teen in Plast.

Even with all of her accomplishments, passions and the full life that she lived, Myrosia’s greatest love and what she was most proud of was her family. She was truly an incredible wife, mother and grandmother, who will be missed tremendously. She will live in our hearts forever.

A Visiting will be held on Monday, March 25, 2024 from 5:30 pm to 9 pm (Parastas at 6:00 pm, Family Eulogies at 7:30 pm) at Marrocco Memorial Chapel, 470 Colfax Ave, Clifton, NJ. A funeral mass will be held at 10 am on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at Saint Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Passaic, NJ. Graveside service will directly follow mass. Myrosia will be laid to rest in the Saint Andrew’s Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery in Bound Brook, NJ. Repast to follow immediately after the graveside service.

For those wishing to send flowers, please have them sent to Marrocco Memorial Chapel, 470 Colfax Avenue, Clifton, NJ 07013.

For those wishing to make a donation in Myrosia’s honor, please send a check made payable to “Save the Children,” a charity which helps children in crisis in Ukraine, to 5501 Kings Highway East, Suite 400, Fairfield, CT 06825. To ensure it reaches children in Ukraine, kindly write “Crisis in Ukraine in memory of Myroslawa Wanio” in the memo portion of the check.