OBITUARY: Dr. Michael Marunchak, archivist, author, Holocaust survivor
WINNIPEG - Dr. Michael H. Marunchak, author and archivist, passed away on November 21 at the age of 80.
A Ukrainian nationalist and a survivor of the Holocaust, Dr. Marunchak spent most of the war years in the Nazi concentrations camps. Bearing witness to that experience he helped form and lead the League of Ukrainian Political Prisoners.
He was also an active member of the World Congress of Free Ukrainians (today known as the Ukrainian World Congress) and president of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences in Canada. He was also a member of the Markian Shashkevych Center in Winnipeg and a supporter of other community organizations.
A prolific author and dedicated archivist, he is particularly well-known for preparing the highly regarded reference work, "Ukrainian Canadians: A History."
Born in Dalesheva, western Ukraine in 1914, he studied at the University of Lviv (1936-1940), then at Prague University, where he received a degree in law (1941). After his arrival in Canada in 1948, he attended the University of Manitoba, obtaining a degree in social work.
Dr. Marunchak worked for the Child Guidance Clinic in Winnipeg School Division No. 1, where he remained until his retirement.
He is survived by his wife of almost 60 years, Natalia, daughter Larysa, son Lev, and granddaughter Taisa.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, December 19, 2004, No. 51, Vol. LXXII
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