$240,000 bequest by Teodor Dziubanowsky creates chair at UCU (12/31/06)

$240,000 bequest by Teodor Dziubanowsky creates chair at UCU

by Andrew Nynka

WINDSOR, Ontario - In a church here near the windswept banks of the Detroit River, Dr. Teodor Dziubanowsky prayed nearly every Sunday until he died several years ago, at age 99. His friends and fellow parishioners gathered recently to memorialize a man who gave much of himself to the Catholic Church.

On a cold Sunday morning in Ss. Vladimir and Olga Ukrainian Catholic Church, parishioners remembered a deeply devoted man who was extraordinarily kind to others. But on that day they discovered something new about Dr. Dziubanowsky, a longtime parishioner of the church.

When he died in December 2003, Dr. Dziubanowsky, who was predeceased by his wife by a year and daughter years earlier, left more than $240,000 to create the Dr. Teodor Dziubanowsky Chair at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv.

"He lived for the Church," the Rt. Rev. Eugene Halitsky, the pastor of Ss. Vladimir and Olga, said of Dr. Dziubanowsky. The two men became friends not long after Father Halitsky moved to the parish in 1990 from his previous home in Brazil.

"Every time I saw him he wanted to know how the Church in Ukraine was doing," the Rt. Rev. Halitsky said, remembering the man who had a private medical practice in Windsor from 1951 to 1984. "Many Ukrainian families went to him because they trusted him. He was a very loving and caring person," Father Halitsky added.

The announcement of the endowment, following a church service in memory of Dr. Dziubanowsky, was made by the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation, Canada, on December 3. Dozens of parishioners packed the basement hall of the church to hear not only of Dr. Dziubanowsky, but also of the Ukrainian Catholic University and what the bequest means to the growing school.

"He fully understood the mission of the Church, and the university's role in helping to build that Church," said Dr. Jurij Darewych, academic advisor and former chair of the UCEF, Canada.

Parishioners also heard about the university's most recent successes from Prof. Myroslav Marynovych, the former political prisoner and current senior vice rector at the university, who attended the event on behalf of the Ukrainian Catholic University.

The decision regarding who will occupy the Dr. Teodor Dziubanowsky Chair, or even what subject matter the chair will focus on, has not yet been decided, Dr. Darewych said.

In fact, Dr. Dziubanowsky left the money to create the Dr. Teodor Dziubanowsky Endowment Fund at UCEF, Canada, which will be used to support the chair. The idea of the endowed chair was decided upon by the university's trustees in cooperation with UCU, said Lada Darewych, administrative director of the UCEF, Canada.

Dr. Dziubanowsky was a respected member of the Ukrainian community in Windsor, and he and his wife, Olha, were longtime parishioners of the church.

Born in the Ternopil region of Ukraine on September 9, 1904, Dr. Dziubanowsky received his medical training in Poland and briefly practiced medicine in Ukraine before serving as a physician in the 1st Division of the Ukrainian National Army.

After World War II Dr. Dziubanowsky immigrated to Canada, where he received his Canadian medical certification.

Nearing his death, Dr. Dziubanowsky lost his sight, but still wanted to attend church regularly, said Lubow Manley, a friend who often drove the doctor to church on Sundays. "I was a teacher, but I learned a lot from him," Mrs. Manley said.

Further information about the UCU in English and Ukrainian is available on the university's website at www.ucu.edu.ua. Readers may also contact the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation, Canada, at 265 Bering Ave., Toronto, ON, M8Z 3A5. The website is www.ucef.ca; by phone, 416-239-2495; e-mail, [email protected].

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