FACES AND PLACES: A legacy of leadership (07/06/97)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

A legacy of leadership

Chicago's Ukrainian community has always had its share of outstanding leaders. Some, like Volodymyr Simenovych, Stephen Hrynevetsky and Mykola Strutynsky, were pioneers who laid a solid communal foundation.

Between the two wars, leaders like Philip Wasylowsky, Taras Shpikula and John Duzansky continued the building process with dynamic and indefatigable leadership.

Among those who left an enduring legacy more recently are Adam Antonovych, Marian Butrynsky and Roman Mycyk.

All of these individuals, almost all of whom lived to a ripe old age, devoted a lifetime to Chicago's Ukrainian community.

Recently, Chicago lost one of its current leaders, a man in his 50s who also left a legacy of leadership that could well be emulated by others of his generation. His name was Ivan Shandor and he was one of a kind.

Born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in March 1946, Ivan emigrated with his parents to the United States in August 1947, settling eventually in New Jersey. He was the son of Dr. Vincent Shandor, a community activist who was a former representative of the Republic of Carpatho-Ukraine in Prague, and Oksana Shandor, daughter of the renowned Ukrainian scholar and architect, Prof. Volodymyr Sichynsky.

A member of the National Honor Society at Eastside High School in Patterson, N.J., Ivan was awarded a scholarship by the University of Pennsylvania for study at the prestigious Wharton School of Business. Earning a bachelor's degree in economics and an MBA in accounting, both from the Wharton School, Ivan became a licensed CPA in New York state.

While in college, Ivan served in the ROTC and was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation. Later he served in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service at Da Nang.

Upon his return to civilian life, he continued his education at Georgetown University, receiving a juris doctor degree in 1973. He was admitted to practice in New York, Virginia, the District of Columbia and, eventually, Illinois.

Ivan began his illustrious career as a tax attorney with Arthur Andersen and Co. in New York City, moving to Baker and McKenzie in Washington two years later. He eventually went to work for Baxter Healthcare in the Chicago area, spending the last 10 year as vice-president for taxes.

Ivan was introduced to his lovely wife, Lidia Boyduy, by Bohdan Futey during a cocktail party that preceded a 1986 joint banquet of the Ukrainian American Medical Association and the Ukrainian Bar Association in Philadelphia. It was Lidia's cousin, Metropolitan Stephen Sulyk, invited to deliver the invocation, who had urged her to attend the banquet. At the time, Lidia was recovering from a skiing accident she suffered in France.

A Ukrainian American born in Detroit, she earned an undergraduate degree from Yale and a J.D. from Boston College. Fluent in French, Lidia was working for a French law firm. Ivan and Lidia were married on February 14, 1987. They had three children Nicholas, 9; Maria, 7; and Gregory, 5.

For most of his adult life, Ivan Shandor was active in the Ukrainian American community. While in Washington, he was associated with The Washington Group. He was also one of the founding members of the Ukrainian American Bar Association (where he served as chairman of the scholarship fund) and the Chicago Group.

He served on the boards of the University of Illinois Foundation for Ukrainian Studies, and was active with Rukh in Chicago, the Andrey Sheptytsky Institute in Ottawa and Club 500. For many years he was chairman of the Supervisory Committee of Selfreliance in Chicago.

Ivan Shandor was the quintessential Ukrainian American success story. An accomplished professional in the larger American community, Ivan was also a loving husband and father. He never turned his back on his Ukrainian roots. He provided meaningful leadership to many Ukrainian organizations, and there was hardly a significant Ukrainian function at which one didn't see Ivan and Lidia. The two provided a definite sparkle to all events they attended.

For me, Ivan Shandor's life is testimony to the fact that professional success in the American arena does not mean a negation of one's Ukrainian heritage. Few Americans, I'm sure, have both a CPA and J.D., and yet that is exactly what Ivan had. He was a corporate executive willing to share his talents with his fellow Ukrainians.

Unfortunately, there are few Ivan Shandors in our community. There are many successful professionals among us - doctors, lawyers, university professors, engineers and corporate executives. How many of them are contributing their talents to our community?

Our community was built by people who were willing to offer themselves to their fellow Ukrainians. Messrs. Simenovych and Hrynevetsky were medical doctors with thriving practices. The Rev. Mykola Strutynsky was a priest who spent his spare time helping Ukrainians get into business. Messrs. Wasylowsky and Duzansky were businessmen. Adam Antonovych was a journalist. Roman Mycyk was a banker. Markian Butrynsky was a priest with a vision that went far beyond the spiritual needs of his parishioners. All of them could have spent their lives doing other things. They didn't. Nor did Ivan Shandor. When it came to his family and his community, he had time for everyone.

Ivan Shandor's death was an accident. He had a minor problem with his car, parked it well off the road, and was struck by a truck that careened onto the shoulder. He died instantly. Why did God allow this to happen?

In his book "When Bad Things Happen to Good People," Rabbi Harold S. Kushner argues persuasively that God does not cause our misfortunes nor can He prevent them. He is limited by human nature and our free will. "Life is not fair. The wrong people get sick and the wrong people get robbed, and the wrong people get killed in wars and accidents," the rabbi writes. At the same time, however, "God has created a world in which many more good things than bad things happen."

Ivan Shandor was one of God's good things. "Vichna Yomu Pamyat!"

Myron Kuropas' e-mail address is: [email protected]

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