FACES AND PLACES: A death too soon (09/19/99)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

A death too soon

I never really had an opportunity to get to know John Panko Jr. on a personal level, but I was very much aware of his presence. Everyone at Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Church in Palatine, Ill., knew him.

John served seven years as our parish council president, a position that few parishioners want, let alone enjoy. Given the nature of some of our people, there must be a special place in heaven for those courageous individuals who take leadership positions in Ukrainian parishes.

How many Ukrainians do you know who recite the rosary these days? How many men do you know who recite the rosary? How many men do you know who lead the recitation, before the liturgy, every Sunday? John was one of those men. A devout Catholic, he had a special love for Padre Pio of Pietrelcina and was involved with pilgrimages to Medjugorje.

John Panko was born on October 1, 1936, in Youngstown, Ohio, to John Sr. and Ann Betts Panko. It was the height of the Great Depression and, like many families of the time, the Pankos struggled to make ends meet.

After completing high school, John became one of the earliest Ukrainian Americans to be accepted by the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he played on the varsity baseball team and sang in the Catholic choir. An excerpt from his West Point bio reads: "He was a friend to all, and we who knew him well, appreciated the qualities which made us proud to know him. As a friend and soldier, he will be remembered always." Upon graduation, John was commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Following military service, John Panko spent 37 years with DuPont, retiring last April. His most recent position was global sales manager for Dupont Dow Elastomers.

John married the former Joanne Marie Miladore on October 1, 1960. She, too, has been active in Ukrainian parish life, lending her beautiful voice first to St. Joseph Parish in Chicago and later to Immaculate Conception. Lesia and I enjoy sitting behind her and singing responses during the liturgy. My prayer life is rather thin, but when I sing, I'm focused, my mind doesn't stray. At Immaculate Conception, singing is praying.

John was a loving father whose three sons, John III, Michael and Mark, share his love for the Ukrainian Church. John III and Michael are visibly involved in our parish. John lived to enjoy six grandchildren, Michael, Matthew, Sarah, Rachel, Isabella and John Peter.

Golfing, fishing and hunting were John's favorite leisure time activities, as was baseball. He loved coaching and served on the Palatine North Little League Board for many years.

John died on May 1 at his home after losing his battle with cancer. Did he suffer? No doubt. But you would hardly know it. He remained active in and around the parish until a few weeks before his death.

For me, John Panko is the ultimate Ukrainian American, a person highly successful in his professional life, an exemplary husband and father, an all-American outdoorsman and a Ukrainian community activist whose role was that of a healer. Like many Ukrainian parishes, ours has both American-born and Ukrainian-born parishioners. Over the years we've had some tense moments, times when it appeared it would be easier to mix oil and water than to reach consensus between the two groups. John managed to navigate the shoals and to bring people together.

John loved Ukraine, but he loved the Ukrainian Church more. He demonstrated his Ukrainianism through his spirituality, a concept that seems to be losing ground among our leaders. This was how he was brought up, and this is how he lived his life.

Why is it that our Church has so few John Pankos today? Part of the reason, I believe, is that for many Ukrainians, the Church is a national institution first and a house of worship and spiritual renewal second, or not at all. Another explanation for the scarcity of John Pankos is that too few Ukrainian parents have prepared their children for Church life. Many of our so-called "nationalists" were too busy fighting with each other to give much thought to their children's religious upbringing. The Church was rarely factored in as an integral part of their Ukrainianism. Go to any Ukrainian parish in any large city today and, more often than not, you will see more gray heads than young marrieds. And young children? You might as well post a sign that says "you must be 21 to be served."

Miraculously, the Ukrainian Church lives. Where? In smaller towns like Mount Carmel, Pa., Rochester, N.Y., Bloomingdale and Palatine, Ill., and dozens and dozens of other locales where the Church still remains either the center of, or a major player in, Ukrainian community life. Believe it or not, there are parishes that are children-friendly. There are parishes where people joyfully sing the responses during liturgy. There are parishes where you are actually welcomed and not ignored or made to feel unwanted if you are a stranger.

I have the good fortune to belong to such a parish. It was John Panko's parish. Yes, we sing together. Yes, the English liturgy is very much child-friendly. (No one turns around if your child or grandchild is antsy, at least during the English liturgy). And no, the Ukrainian-born and American-born don't always see eye to eye, but at least, after many long years, we've come to understand that since we are a small parish, we need each other to survive. Hey, what do you want? Two out of three pluses ain't bad.

Canada, especially western Canada, has parishes where the people are more concerned with their parish than with what is happening in Ukraine. Last year Lesia and I visited an Orthodox parish in Calgary. One of the local "varenyky ladies" was in the kitchen and she showed us around the church with obvious pride. When I asked her how the parish felt about Filaret, she replied "Who?" Unbelievable, right?

Our pastor, the Rev. Michael Kuzma, is Canadian-born and the parish has more children now than ever. Maybe it's because the reverend has six kids of his own. Our bishop, Michael Wiwchar, also is Canadian-born. I've never seen the bishop down in the dumps. How can that be?

John Panko was like that. As we approach the second millennium, our community needs to pray for more people like John Panko Jr. - people who care, people who are the bedrock of our society.

John Panko was 62 years old when he died. It was a death too soon. Vichna yomu pamiat!

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

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