Theodor Szereg

Theodor Szereg, age 89, of Clifton, NJ, passed away on Tuesday, August 17, 2010. He was born in Jaselko, an ethnic Ukrainian village in Poland on April 20, 1921, the eldest of five children. His father was a farmer, as well as the village mayor, who donated his own house to be the first school in the village. In 1941, at age 20, Theodor was taken to forced labor in Nazi Germany, where he worked in an oil refinery; he never saw his family again. After the capitulation, he found himself in the British Zone, and rather than return to the Soviet Union, he emigrated to Great Britain, and thence to the United States, sponsored by his maternal aunt, Paraska Powanda. In 1957 he married Mary Procak, who had grown up in Jaselko, and in 1959 they had a daughter, Sonia. He worked many jobs, including as a porter in New York, at the American Can Company in Jersey City, and in a pasta factory. From 1963 until his retirement in 1985, he was the superintendant of a 52-family apartment building in Brooklyn, much admired for the pride with which he maintained his building and for his ability to fix virtually anything. Upon retirement, he moved to Clifton, NJ, where he became a parishioner of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, and where he was reunited in community with many relatives, fellow Jaselchany , and Lemky. He loved being the hospodar of his own property building closets, redoing the kitchen himself, finishing the basement, enlarging the shed, painting, and growing 10-foot tall tomato plants and zucchini the size of clubs. He was still mowing the lawn, shoveling snow, and panicking his family by climbing onto the roof to fix the TV antenna until he was 85. All his life, he was proud of his Ukrainian heritage, and devoted to the cause of gaining independence for Ukraine. In England, he was a member of Plast Ukrainian Scouts, and then of SUM and the Organization for the Defense of the Four Freedoms of Ukraine in the United States. He was a flagbearer in the opening ceremonies for the groundbreaking of Oselia , the SUM resort in Ellenville, and donated money and muscle to its development. He was a devoted father, who ensured his daughter Sonia was brought up in her Ukrainian heritage, and was a taxi-dad who spent countless hours driving her to and from the city for Saturday Ukrainian school, SUM, piano lessons, and choir practice, as well as summer camps upstate and performances. He sent her to the Harvard School of Ukrainian Studies, and on Stezhkamy Batkiv po Evropi , a study-tour which followed the paths of Ukrainian emigres and displaced persons around Europe after the war. He lived long enough to see his daughter finally get married in 1999, and in 2001 he became Dido to Michael (Mykhasyk). He was always ready to help out with anything and everything, and was devoted to Mykhasyk, with whom he enjoyed spending time virtually every day, watching him building tracks, playing Zaychyk-Pobihaychyk , and going on walks around the neighborhood. Michael will always have beautiful memories of the many hours he spent with his beloved Dido. In February 2009, he became a resident of Arden Courts, an Assisted Living for people with Alzheimer s, a place that is staffed by people who are truly angels on Earth and where his soul was finally healed of the trauma of the war. He spent his last years there in great contentment and joy. He leaves behind one sister, Olena, and many nieces and nephews in Ukraine. In the US, he leaves his wife Mary, with whom he celebrated their Golden Anniversary in 2007; his loving daughter Sonia, with her husband Vlodko; and his beloved grandson, Mykhasyk. We are saddened by his passing, but also are in awe of the miraculous journey which brought him full circle to healing while still in this life, and he will be remembered with gratitude, smiles, and much love. Vichna yomu pamyat. Eternal memory. Visitation will be at the Marrocco Memorial Chapel, 470 Colfax Avenue, Clifton on Friday, August 20, 2-4 and 7-9 pm. Parastas at 7:30 pm. Funeral Mass at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, 222 President Street, Passaic, NJ on Saturday at 9:30 am. Interment at Holy Spirit Cemetery in Campbell Hall, NY. In Lieu of flowers contributions to Saint Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic School or the U A Y A Camp Fund would be appreciated.


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