IN MEMORIAM: Savella Stechishin, Ukrainian Canadian pioneer and feminist (07/14/02)

IN MEMORIAM

Savella Stechishin, Ukrainian Canadian pioneer and feminist

SASKATOON - Ukrainian Canadian pioneer and feminist Savella Stechishin died on April 22 in Saskatoon at the age of 98. The history of Ukrainian women in Canada was personified in Mrs. Stechishin, who for three-quarters of a century was a forerunner, a woman ahead of her time, a perennial mover and shaker.

An immigrant to Canada in 1913, she became an active advocate of women's rights, an ethnic leader, journalist, author, teacher, home economist and community organizer who dedicated her life to bringing women of Ukrainian descent, together with their cultural heritage, into mainstream society at a time when only men were leaders. She could be described as an ethno-cultural social maternal feminist.

Mrs. Stechishin was born in western Ukraine on August 19, 1903, and came to Canada at the age of 9. Her family settled on a homestead in Krydor, Saskatchewan, where she lived until 1918.

In the 1920s she went against the prevailing view that a married woman's place was to be in the home, and not to pursue a higher education. She was married at the age of 17 while in grade 10 and had her first child when she was 18. However, by the time she was 26, she had completed high school and teachers' college and had obtained a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Saskatchewan.

She was the first Ukrainian Canadian woman to graduate from the University of Saskatchewan (1930), and the first Ukrainian woman in canada to graduate with a specialization in home economics.

During the time she was studying and raising a family, she also served as dean of women at St. Petro Mohyla Institute alongside her husband, who was the rector. Her determination to preserve Ukrainian culture in Canada led her at age 20 to found and head a young Ukrainian women's student group, Mohylianky, at the institute. She was responsible for organizing evening courses in many aspects of Ukrainian culture. Public speaking sessions and debates were held to help these young women learn to express themselves and develop their self-esteem. All these activities were stimulating for the teacher trainee residents.

Seeing the difficulties Ukrainian pioneers had integrating into their new lives in Canada, Mrs. Stechishin was the leading initiator of the first Ukrainian national women's non-denominational organization, the Ukrainian Women's Association of Canada, in 1926. Under her leadership with many former Mohylianky on board, the organization took root and branches quickly mushroomed throughout Canada.

The association's motto was: "self-help, self-reliance, and self-respect."

She encouraged women to take advantage of the educational possibilities available to them in their new homeland. She inspired them to take pride in their rich cultural heritage at a time when multiculturalism was still unheard of in Canada, and prejudice and bigotry were rampant.

During this time, Mrs. Stechishin corresponded with leading women writers of various publications in Ukraine. She was inspired by them to continue her mission in Canada and, likewise, inspired the women in Ukraine by supporting them morally, financially (through the sales of their embroidered goods, books and almanacs) and educationally (via studies of such subjects as home economics and the life of Ukrainian Canadian women).

She was instrumental in laying the foundation for the Ukrainian Museum of Canada that later came under the auspices of the Ukrainian Women's Association of Canada. This museum, the only ethno-cultural museum in Canada to have branches, has its headquarters in Saskatoon and branches in Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. This museum has preserved many thousands of artifacts for future generations of Canadians to treasure and enjoy. The emphasis that Mrs. Stechishin placed on retaining the traditional Ukrainian folk arts in Canada did much to raise them to the respected position that they now occupy among other heritage folk arts in Canada's multicultural mosaic.

She started teaching in Saskatchewan country schools and later taught home economics in Saskatoon public schools. In addition, she instructed Ukrainian language courses at the Mohyla Institute and was a sessional lecturer of Ukrainian language at the University of Saskatchewan.

After obtaining a B.A. degree in 1930 with a specialization in home economics, Mrs. Stechishin joined the Department of Women's Services at the University of Saskatchewan and used her training to engage in outreach work for many years. As a home economist she tried to improve the living conditions of Ukrainian immigrant settlers by instructing them in the importance of a healthy lifestyle and nutrition. Lessons about cooking and general homemaking practices also were stressed.

Mrs. Stechishin was the editor of the Women's Page of the Ukrainian Voice, a widely read Ukrainian language newspaper published in Winnipeg, and contributed weekly columns for more than 25 years on a broad spectrum of topics: nutrition, homemaking trends, immigrant issues and the preservation of the Ukrainian language and culture in Canada. Through her informative and challenging newspaper columns she assisted women in adjusting to the expectations of Canadian society, informed them of their rights as Canadian citizens and raised their awareness of the issues of the day.

She made significant contributions to Ukrainian women's magazines, such as Our Life (U.S.), Promin (then located in Winnipeg) and Zhinocha Dolia (Ukraine).

During world war II, she served as a journalist on nutrition and health for the Consumer Information Service of the Wartime Services in Ottawa. Her columns were printed in various Ukrainian-language newspapers in Canada.

Mrs. Stechishin was also the author of four books, the best known of which is "Traditional Ukrainian Cookery." This cookbook has already served three generations as a source of carefully researched information about Ukrainian cuisine, culture and traditions. Since its first publication in 1957, it has been reprinted 18 times, and over 80,000 copies have been sold throughout the English-speaking world. It is considered to be the most authoritative book on Ukrainian cuisine and it is now being discovered in newly independent Ukraine where younger generations are studying their Ukrainian heritage after years of Russification.

In 1950, Ms. Stechishin wrote a 133-page Ukrainian-language book titled "Cultural Treasures: Ukrainian Embroidery" that was based on her avid interest in Ukrainian folk arts and her determination to make them an integral part of Canadian culture.

In 1975 she published a Ukrainian-language book documenting the history of the first branch of the Ukrainian Women's Association of Canada, "The Fifty-Year (1923-1973) Anniversary of the Ukrainian Women's Association, Olha Kobylianska Branch in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan."

Mrs. Stechishin assisted her husband in writing a 500-page textbook titled "Ukrainian Grammar" (1951), which was used by English-speaking schools, colleges and universities throughout the world.

After the untimely death of her husband, Mrs. Stechishin took it upon herself to assume responsibility for an ambitious project that he had started: to research and write a book titled "The History of Ukrainian Settlement in Canada." Undaunted by the magnitude of the task, she persevered and successfully completed the project. The original book was published in Ukrainian in 1971; in 1992 it was published in English translation.

Her late husband, Julian, was a lawyer, writer, author, scholar, lecturer, teacher and community activist. He was one of the original founders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada in 1918 in Saskatoon. Mrs. Stechishin assisted him and, at her death, was the last remaining member of this original group.

The leadership role that Mrs. Stechishin played in all the organizations she established or helped to establish involved much work and personal sacrifice. The types of demands that were placed on her time and her energy were wide-ranging: formulating goals, organizing meetings and conferences, traveling throughout Canada, the United States and Ukraine delivering speeches, and contributing articles concerning women's issues to various Ukrainian newspapers and periodicals, both in Canada and in western Ukraine prior to its incorporation into the Soviet Union at the beginning of the second world war. With a family comprising three children, she had to be very well organized and prepared to do a lot of juggling and improvising.

Mrs. Stechishin received numerous awards throughout her lifetime. The most notable among them were the following:

1962 - The Taras Shevchenko Medal was presented to her by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. This is the highest award bestowed by the Ukrainian Canadian community on individuals who have made an outstanding effort and accomplished extraordinary deeds in the Ukrainian Canadian community. It is a public recognition of a lifetime of tireless and selfless work because it was given freely out of love for the community and not for personal gain.
1974 - The Kelowna, British Columbia, branch of the Ukrainian Women's Association of Canada was named the Savella Stechishin Branch.
1975 - She was named Woman of the Year (during International Women's Year) by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.
1975 - She was named Outstanding Saskatoon Woman by the Civic Committee on the Status of Women, City of Saskatoon.
1976 - She recieved an honorary doctorate of canon law from St. Andrew's College, University of Manitoba.
1980 - She was named a Notable Saskatchewan Woman on the province's 75th anniversary in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the development of Saskatchewan.
1989 - She was named to the University of Saskatchewan Faculty of Home Economics Living Hall of Fame on the occasion of its 60th Anniversary.
1989 - She was appointed to the Order of Canada, the country's highest distinction for citizens of outstanding merit and public service.
1992 - She was awarded a medal commemorating the Ukrainian centenary of settlement in Canada as one of 100 outstanding Canadians of Ukrainian heritage who contributed to the development of Canada.
1992 - She was awarded a medal by the governor general of Canada commemorating the 125th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada.
1995 - She was presented the Nation Builders Award from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Saskatchewan Provincial Council, in recognition of her contribution to the development of Saskatchewan.
1997 - She was honored in Kyiv for her many contributions in the field of Ukrainian culture and to the Ukrainian women's movement.
1997 - She was inducted into the Saskatoon Council of the Women's Hall of Fame on Person's Day.
1997 - She was selected as the subject for a master's thesis in history by Natalie Ostryzniuk (University of Regina) devoted to the most productive years of her life (1920-1945) and their far-reaching effects.
1998 - She was appointed to the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, the province's highest honor.

Mrs. Stechishin's legacy lives on. She passed on her love of her heritage to her children and grandchildren and to the countless women whose lives she touched.

She will be lovingly remembered by her daughter, Zenia, of Toronto; son, Dr. Myron (and wife Emily) of Edmonton; grandchildren, Danovia (Scott) Stefura of Toronto, Gordon Stechishin of Edmonton, John (Susan) Stetch/Stechishin of New York City, Gregory (Jo-Ann Sturko) Stechishin of Edmonton, Andrea (Anton) Lakusta of Edmonton, and Dr. Mallory Stechishin-Kozoriz (Grant) of San Francisco; great-grandsons, Eliajah and Gabriel Stefura; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Mrs. Stechishin joins in peaceful eternity her husband, Julian; son, Anatole; parents, Trofym and Eva Wawryniuk; half brother, John; half sister, Mokryna Worobey; brothers, Thomas (Apolonari) Warnock and Eugene Warnick; sisters, Mary Charko-Nowosad, Helen Worobetz and Stephania Magus; and daughters-in-law, Olha and Claudia.

Memorial donations may be made to St. Andrew's College (Ukrainian Orthodox Seminary), University of Manitoba, 29 Dysart Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2M7, or any charity of the donor's choice.

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