OBITUARY
George Chranewycz, political, sports activist
by Ihor Lysyj
SECAUCUS, N.J. - George Chranewycz, a prominent activist of the Ukrainian diaspora, died on December 29, 1996.
A son of a former colonel of the Ukrainian National Republic (UNR) Army, he was born in Warsaw in 1930. During World War II, his family moved west to escape communist oppression. They were part of a major migration of political, professional, intellectual and business segments of Eastern and Central European societies that were escaping the destructive forces of communism. Known as Displaced Persons (DPs), they established their camps in western Germany before being resettled largely in North and South America, and Australia.
The formative years of Mr. Chranewycz's youth were spent in Camp Orlyk, located in the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden. There he graduated from the Ukrainian Gymnasium in 1949. An accomplished linguist at age 18, he won a scholarship (after a discourse in fluent Latin with a selection committee representative) at the prestigious Yale University, within a year of his family's arrival in America.
Mr. Chranewycz graduated from Yale with a B.A. degree in 1955, and from Columbia University with an M.S. degree in city planning in 1962. His professional career was mainly with the Newark Redevelopment and Housing Authority in various positions, including that of director of planning, engineering and research.
A fully integrated member of American society, Mr. Chranewycz, in the best tradition of his family, remained deeply involved in the affairs of the Ukrainian diaspora through membership on the executive board of the U.S. committee of the Ukrainian Government-In-Exile. He was an officer in the Ukrainian Sports Federation of the U.S.A. and Canada and the Sitch Ukrainian sports club.
His professional, social and political activities were not limited, however, to the diaspora. After the collapse of communism, Mr. Chranewycz made major contributions to the restoration of humane society in Eastern Europe by playing an important role as a consultant in planning the redevelopment of cities and the renewal of infrastructure in Ukraine, Poland and Hungary. Especially notable were his efforts in the revitalization of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Mr. Chranewycz is survived by his wife, Oxana. Burial was at the Ukrainian Orthodox cemetery in South Bound Brook, N.J.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 23, 1997, No. 8, Vol. LXV
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