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CYM Mourns Loss of Yaroslaw Petryk (1915-2000)
On Friday, June 30th, CYM US mourned the loss of one of their most dedicated and life time members, Druh Yaroslaw Petryk.
In the 1940's, Druh Yaroslaw was and active member of Plast in Austria. In 1950, he traveled with his wife Iryna and daughter Orysia to the United States where they first settled in New York City, New York then later chose residency in Passaic, New Jersey. In 1951, he became an member of CYM and took an active role in organizing the 4th Viddil Yunatstva
within the US and became the first holova of CYM Passaic. Aside from his work in Passaic, a lifetime participation within CYM US throughout the years led him to such roles as CYM US Sportovij Referent and Komandant of many CYM
summer camps such as Vidpochynkovyj, Sportovyj and Vyshkilnyj in Ellenville, NY. Druh Yaroslaw most enjoyed Sports Camps, where he favored the sport of Soccer. His favorite quote: "Nema lipshoho sportu yak Kopanyj Myach!"
Druh Yaroslaw was not only active within CYM, but within many other Ukrainian organizations and the American workforce:
Ukrainian National Home of Passaic, NJ - President for 40 years (held this position till the day he passed away)
USCAK (Ukrainian Sports Federation of America and Canada) - an active member for 40 years (1955 - 1995)
Self Reliance Federal Credit Union, Passaic, NJ - was one of the founding members of the first branch of the Credit Union and was also their first President.
Ukrainian Fraternal Organization - an active member for many years.
Passaic City Hall, Passaic, NJ - employed as a Senior Draftsman from 1971 - 1986, where he retired at the age of 70.
Back in 1995, he was able to fulfill a dream that he thought would never come true. He returned to a free Ukraine and was able to visit his home city of Zolotchiv. His trip was one that individuals there will never forget. During his visit, he spoke to a crowd of over 1,000 people from Zolotchiv and nearby villages about his experiences since he left his home and the struggles that he and his family went through when leaving the city. The highlight of his speech was when he showed everyone the actual Ukrainian flag that he managed to smuggle out of Ukraine 50 years prior. - Myroslava Babinska from Zolotchi wrote a letter to Druh Yaroslaw regarding the positive impact that his visit made while in Ukraine.
Druh Yaroslaw will be missed by not only sumivtsi, but by anyone who knew him as a friend and mentor. He leaves behind his loving wife Iryna to whom he was married for 60 years this past April and who was always very supportive of him and his active participation in the Ukrainian community; a daughter and son-in-law - Orysia and John Czuczak; 2 grandchildren - Natalka and Roman Czuczak; a brother - Bohdan and a sister - Ivanka Kostyszyn.
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