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10 WWW.UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЖОВТЕНЬ 2016 Joanna M. Ratych (1926–2016) We recently learned of the passing of Joanna M. Ratych, an extraordinar- ily gifted and generous member of the UNWLA community who served our organization for many years, initially as a member of Branch 65 of New Brunswick, New Jersey, and later as a member of Branch 56 of North Port, Florida. In 1978, Dr. Ratych joined the UNWLA’s National Board as Fi- nancial Secretary; she was subsequently elected as one of the organiza- tion’s vice presidents and later served as chair of the UNWLA’s Auditing Committee (1993 – 2008). A generous philanthropist, she supported and sponsored several UNWLA publications, including "Листи так довго йдуть” (Letters Take So Long to Arrive), a compilation of correspondence to and from Lesya Ukrainka discovered in the basement of a university in Prague. As members of the Ukrainian Museum, she and her husband Oleh generously supported the UM’s endeavors and exhibits. Dr. Ratych was also a great supporter of Our Life and the UNWLA’s Social Welfare Committee. She was also a generous sponsor of the UNWLA’s Scholarship Program, giving many students an opportunity to achieve their goals and realize their dreams. In 1999, she was acknowledged by the UNWLA for her many years of exemplary service and was given the title of Honorary Member (Pochesna Chlenka). Be- low we share excerpts from an obituary posted online by Dr. Ratych’s family. Dr. Joanna M. (Ivanka) Ratych (nee Mirtschuk) peacefully passed on the evening of September 5 at the age of 90; she is survived by brother-in-law Rostyslaw Ratycz and wife Helen and their children: Nadia, Roman with wife Olesia and children Mykola and Anya, Christina, Natalia Czernyk with husband Ihor and children Julianna, Katherine and John; and niece Daria and nephew Jaroslaw. She was predeceased by her loving husband Oleh and daughter Juliana. Joanna was born June 12, 1926, in Vienna, Austria; she grew up and was educated in Berlin. Her family left Berlin in 1945, temporarily settling in Bayreuth, Germany, where she was an English and Ger- man teacher in the displaced persons camp “Gymnasia.” She later continued her education at the Ludvig- Maximilian University in Munich, Germany, where she completed her doctorate. Joanna married Oleh Ratych, and the couple moved to the United States. In 1959, they were blessed with the birth of a daughter, Juliana, whom they lost in a tragic automobile accident in 1986. Dr. Joanna Ratych was a university professor of German language and literature at Rutgers Uni- versity; she was among the first tenured women professors at the institution and was eventually appointed Director of the Department of German studies. The author of several books, essays, and articles, she was recognized with numerous accreditations, including a Certificate of Merit from the Goethe Institute, the Lindback Award from Rutgers University, and a Friendship Award bestowed upon her by the Federal Re- public of Germany. An active member of the Ukrainian American community, she joined the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, eventually serving on the board and the Auditing Committee; she was also a generous supporter and sponsor of the Ukrainian Museum in New York and the Ukrainian Free University in Munich, Germany, and sang in the church choir in New Brunswick, N.J., and in North Port, Fla. Visitation and Panakhyda were held on Thursday, September 8, 2016, at the Flynn and Son/Koyen Funeral Home in Metuchen, N.J. Funeral services were held on Friday, September 9, 2016, at 10:30 a.m. at The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church in New Brunswick. Internment fol- lowed at St. Peter’s Cemetery, New Brunswick. Per the family’s request, memorial contributions in Jo- anna’s memory may be made to charities dear to her: UNWLA “Our Life” / Press Fund The Ukrainian Museum 203 Second Avenue 222 East 6th Street New York, NY 10003 New York, NY 10003
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