OBITUARY: Michael Huk, 79, anesthesiologist, supporter of national causes (10/10/99)

OBITUARY

Michael Huk, 79, anesthesiologist, supporter of national causes

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Prominent anesthesiologist Dr. Michael Huk died here on Saturday, October 2, at the age of 79.

Long before "alternative medicine" became a buzzword, Dr. Huk, an anesthesiologist with Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield, N.J., began studying acupuncture and hypnosis in the 1960s. In fact, Dr. Huk was nationally recognized and profiled for using only hypnosis during a radical hysterectomy. He was one of the first medical doctors to practice acupuncture in New Jersey. In addition to his work for Muhlenberg Hospital, he ran a Pain and Stress Center for multiple ills, including smoke cessation, weight loss and pain.

Dr. Huk was born on April 3, 1920, in Nova Skvara, Ukraine. Like many, he was forced to leave during World War II, upon the invasion of the German and Russian forces, to search for freedom in other lands.

A graduate of Heidelberg University, Dr. Huk had earlier studied at St. Basil's Seminary in Zovkva, Ukraine, where he was invited by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky of the Ukrainian Catholic Church to join the priesthood. Despite the metropolitan's entreaties and his deep devotion to his faith, Dr. Huk asked for an abeyance until he completed his medical studies. But it was at Heidelberg University that Dr. Huk met his wife, Dr. Lydia (neé Hlanko) Huk. Tragically, she died only two years after their marriage.

It was during this time, immediately after the war, that Dr. Huk served on the staff of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower in Heidelberg, where he focused on work with displaced persons, primarily as a translator. His excellent command of over six languages was invaluable to the Allied Command.

Dr. Huk worked with the late William H. Sudduth, in establishing foreign student associations for displaced persons in Germany and finding sponsors for them at various academic institutions in the United States. In conjunction with his then father-in-law, Basil Hlanko, he supported the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration's efforts, which his father-in-law oversaw.

In his early years in the United States, in the 1950s, Dr. Huk completed his internship at St. Mary's Hospital in Hoboken, N.J., and continued his residency at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia. He led the Ukrainian Medical Association as its president for several years, and was active in the Union County (N.J.) Medical Association, which he often represented at various conferences. The American Medical Association recently cited Dr. Huk for his outstanding record of achievement during the last 50 years.

A dynamic man, known particularly for his great sense of humor and storytelling and contagious joy of life, he loved nature and people, and managed to engage anyone he met with jokes and stories. Dr. Huk enjoyed traveling extensively, and often went on safari. He collected art and was himself an artist, having studied art with such notables as Joe Hing Lowe. A recognized pastelist and watercolorist, Dr. Huk exhibited widely and was awarded several first prize citations, including most recently an award by the Westfield Art Association. Dr. Huk was also active in the Westfield Senior Citizens Guild and often volunteered at nursing homes and at children's hospitals and facilities.

Dr. and Mrs. Huk, the former Lydia Stefanowicz, were also active in the Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hillside, N.J., the Ukrainian Institute of America, the New Jersey Council on the Arts - Holmdel Festivals, and the Ukrainian Studies Fund at Harvard University, and were supporters also of The Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Dr. Huk was an active tennis and soccer fan and enjoyed hiking. He could often be seen strolling up and down the hills of his beloved Mountainside, N.J., greeting neighbors and stopping to admire nature, a practice he continued at Harvard Square.

He was devoted his family; his wife of almost 40 years, Lydia; his children, Mona; Camilla and her husband Roman; and Andrew; and his grandchildren, Olya Matkiwsky and Sanya Huk. He was also close to his wife's family, especially his mother-in-law, Olha Stefanowicz, and her daughter, Christina Dylan, and her family.

Funeral services were held October 7 at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Newark, N.J., followed by internment at St. Andrew the First-Called Apostle Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery in South Bound Brook, N.J.

| Home Page |