The news about the untimely passing of our dear colleague Marta Kolomayets traveled quickly on Sunday, August 16. And it shocked all who heard it. Marta was gone. At the age of 61. Frankly, we are still numb. Indeed, judging by the comments of those who knew her and posted their feelings on Facebook, all are stunned by this terrible news, all are deeply saddened.
Marta’s life and good works, both here in the United States – where she was born and studied, and volunteered, and worked – and in Ukraine – where she lived for more than half of her life, worked in a variety of professional roles and was involved in many volunteer endeavors – touched countless people. That’s why her death has left so many in tears.
Many people considered themselves close to Marta, whether through Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization, or work, or volunteer activity. The condolences, reminiscences and tributes are legion. The photos shared show the remarkable life and journey of Marta Kolomayets. One of her closest friends here in the United States observed that Marta had more friends than anyone he knows. A dear friend and confidant in Kyiv said we all have been orphaned by Marta’s passing. The thing is, everyone knew Marta in their own special way, because she was special and she made you feel special. That’s just the way she was. And she would do anything, everything, for her friends.
We at The Ukrainian Weekly knew her well. After all, Marta joined our tight-knit editorial staff in January 1982, fresh out of journalism grad school. We can still picture her arrival from Chicago with her huge suitcases; we still remember how the local parish gave this young transplant a bed to sleep on. She quickly fit in and was a wonderful addition to our crew. As one colleague put it, our team was “young, intense, carefree, and we shared so much.” Above all, we shared a love of our Ukrainian community and of Ukraine. We knew we had a role to play in our “hromada” and in sharing Ukraine’s story with the world around us. We were devoted to that mission and considered ourselves lucky to have this opportunity.
Clearly, Marta was meant to be a member of our editorial staff. She was passionate about Ukraine. Thus, it was fitting that she would become our first correspondent on the ground in Kyiv when things loosened up a bit and we were allowed to officially open a press bureau. In January 1991, Marta was already on the scene – months before Ukraine re-established its independence on August 24, 1991. Those were truly heady days. And Ukraine was lucky to have Marta there as history was being made in the first six and a half months of 1991. (Ukraine’s independence was proclaimed the month after Marta concluded her tour of duty, on the watch of our next Kyiv correspondent. Nonetheless, Marta reported the historic reaction at Ukraine’s Mission to the United Nations.) Marta went on to serve four more illustrious assignments as our correspondent in Kyiv. (You can see how much she covered, and how well, by checking out the digital archives on our website.)
When she left the editorial staff of The Ukrainian Weekly in December of 1996, Marta wrote a good-bye letter, in which she said: “I don’t want to say good-bye, because I believe in my heart that I will always be part of The Weekly. … I grew up at The Weekly and, therefore, will always consider it a part of me. For me, The Weekly was more than just a job, it was a way of life. So, this is not good-bye, but so long…” She kept in touch all these years with her colleagues from The Weekly, when she was visiting the U.S. or we were visiting Ukraine. Though we were separated by thousands of miles, that distance was not insurmountable. She kept in touch also with readers of The Weekly through her occasional articles. It was always wonderful to receive them, to read them and to publish them.
Today, we don’t want to say good-bye to Marta Kolomayets. She will live on in our thoughts and memories. Vichnaya pamiat!