OBITUARIES (08/08/99)

OBITUARIES

Anatolii Solovyanenko, world-renowned tenor, 66

KYIV - Anatolii Solovyanenko, one of Ukraine's best known opera singers and a former soloist with the Metropolitan Opera, died at his summer home outside Kyiv on July 30 of a heart attack. He was 66.

The tenor had recently performed in recitals in Toronto and the United States as part of a tour of Ukrainian communities that commenced with an appearance at the Glen Gould Hall in Toronto on May 30 and concluded with a concert at the Grazhda in Hunter, N.Y. on July 4.

Mr. Solovyanenko, who was born September 25, 1932, in Donetsk, graduated from the Donetsk Polytechnical Institute, where he was trained as an engineer, and later from the Kyiv Conservatory, where he completed his studies in 1978. As part of his musical training, he received a scholarship to Milan's famed La Scala, where he studied from 1963 to 1965.

Mr. Solovyanenko was a soloist with the Kyiv Theater of Opera and Ballet for almost three decades (1965-1993) and performed as soloist at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1977-1978.

His illustrious career took him around the world, as he concertized on its major stages. His repertoire included some 50 roles in 18 operas, as well as numerous arias and songs - Italian, Ukrainian and Russian - that form part of the Zolotyi Fond (The Golden Treasury) collection of master and archival recordings.

He was the recipient of numerous awards and titles, including "National Artist," conferred by the Ukrainian government during the Soviet-era as well as since Ukraine's independence. Mr. Solovyanenko was also accorded the title of Commandore della Republica Italiana.

Mr. Solovyanenko is survived by his wife, Svitlana, and sons, Andrii and Anatolii. Funeral services were held August 2 in the village of Kozyn, Kyiv Oblast, at the local Ukrainian Orthodox church of which the deceased was a major benefactor, followed by interment next to his father at the church cemetery.

President Kuchma sent a telegram of sympathy to Mr. Solovyanenko's wife and relatives.

Present at the funeral were President Leonid Kuchma, along with various ministers and representatives of the government, friends and colleagues.

Thousands of Kyiv residents turned out on August 2 at a memorial service held at the National Philharmonic to bid farewell to Mr. Solovyanenko.

A memorial concert for the tenor will be held in Kyiv at the Ukraina Palace of Culture this fall.

Dr. Ivan Makarewycz, a founding member of Hunter community

ASTORIA, N.Y. - Dr. Ivan Makarewycz, physician, lifelong committed member of the Ukrainian community, and initiator and founding member of the parish and cultural complex of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hunter, N.Y., died here on July 10 at the age of 85.

In both his professional career and as a community activist throughout his life - be it in his native Ukraine, in the displaced persons camps of Germany in the aftermath of World War II, or upon emigrating to the U.S. - he displayed deep commitment to helping his fellow countrymen and working for the good of the community.

Dr. Makarewycz had the foresight and vision to provide for what is most important and essential - the spiritual and cultural life of the community. His particular legacy, conceived jointly with his wife, Natalia, was the construction of a church and a cultural center outside of New York City.

With this aim in mind he donated part of his land holdings in the Catskills on which were built, the Hutsul-style wooden church (1962) and belltower; the Grazhda (1973) music hall and community center; and church rectory (1984).

Participating in the construction effort, apart from Dr. Makarewycz himself and members of his family, were volunteers from among his patients, parishioners of St. John, as well as skilled craftsmen - all of whom were an integral part of the overall undertaking.

The complex was dedicated to those who struggled and died for the freedom of Ukraine and blessed by Patriarch and Cardinal Josyf Slipyi on August 8, 1968, during his visit to the church.

Over the years, the church and cultural complex have gained renown as an architectural landmark, which has been featured in various regional and architectural publications. The complex has attracted the attention of tourists from throughout the United States and abroad and has served as a focal point for a thriving summer community for three generations of Ukrainian Americans.

Dr. Makarewycz was born May 8, 1914, in the village of Pokrivtsi, Stryi Raion, Lviv Oblast into the family of the Rev. Yosyf and Olha (nee Onuferko) Makarewycz.

After finishing school in the city of Stanyslaviv (present-day Ivano- Frankivsk) in 1932, he left to study medicine in Graz, Austria (1933-1938), where he specialized in surgery and received his degree in 1940.

While studying in Austria he would return to Ukraine for the summer where he did volunteer medical work in the village of Yasen in the Carpathian Mountains.

In 1941, during World War II, he served as a doctor in the Rolland unit of the Legion of Ukrainian Nationalists within the German Army. In 1945-1949 he organized and served as director of surgery at the United Nations Refugee Relief Committee Hospital in Aschaffenburg, Germany.

He also worked as a surgeon at the U.S. Army hospital based in Würzburg, Germany in 1948.

Upon emigrating to the United States he passed his medical board exams and opened a private practice in New York City and Astoria, N.Y.

Dr. Makarewycz was a member of the New York branch of the Ukrainian Medical Association of America as well as various U.S. medical associations.

He served as director-founder of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hunter, N.Y. (1960-1984), and subsequently was named honorary trustee.

For his efforts on behalf of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, he was awarded the Golden Cross of Merit by Pope John Paul II in 1984 and was the recipient of an honorary certificate for his work on behalf of the parish in Hunter.

He supported member and contributed to various Ukrainian community, cultural and educational institutions, among them the Shevchenko Scientific Society, the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences in the United States, The Ukrainian Museum in New York City and the Plast Ukrainian Youth Organization (he was in charge of medical services at the first Plast camps in the United States held in East Chatham, N.Y.).

Dr. Makarewycz is survived by his wife, Natalia (née Halushchynska); daughter Oksana, with her husband, Dr. Jaroslav Sydorak, and sons, Andriy with wife Kim, and Dr. Roman; son Dr. Bohdan and his wife, Lida (née Obushkevych), and children, Alexander, Constantin, Motrija and Justin.

Funeral services were held on July 15 at Holy Cross Ukrainian Catholic Church in Astoria, N.Y., followed by interment at St. Andrew the First-Called Apostle Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery in South Bound Brook, N.J.

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