Lubomyra Palij Obituary

Mrs. Palij died peacefully on Friday January 6, 2012 at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Lawrence, Kansas. Memorial services for Mrs. Lubomyra (Luba) Olha Palij will be held on Sunday January 22, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. at the St. Lawrence Catholic Center in Lawrence, Kansas, with Monsignor Vince Krische officiating. Graveside services for Lubomyra Palij were held on Monday January 16, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at the St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery in South Bound Brook, New Jersey, with Fr. Jeremiah Rybakov officiating. Lubomyra was born March 14, 1922 in Chortkiv, Ukraine, the daughter of Dr. Ivan and Maria Yashan Welyhorskyj. She was the middle child of three siblings. She had an older brother Myroslaw and a younger brother Ihor. In 1940, she finished high school in Yavoriv, Ukraine. In 1943, she graduated from the Pharmaceutical College in Lviv, Ukraine with a degree in pharmacy. After the Second World War, in 1948, the Welyhorskyj family immigrated to Espanola, Ontario, Canada. A few months later, they moved to Toronto where they settled permanently. Lubomyra obtained her license to practice pharmacy, and worked in St. Josephs Hospital until 1963. In 1963, she married Chicago publisher and businessman Mykola Denysiuk. She moved to Chicago and became co-owner and manager of the Mykola Denysiuk Publishing Company. Mykola and Lubomyra published hundreds of books on Ukrainian culture; a monthly cultural magazine called Ovid; and the complete works of iconic Ukrainian writers like Taras Shevchenko and Ivan Franko. She was also active in the Chicago Branch of the Ukrainian National Womens League of America (UNWLA). Mykola Denysiuk died suddenly in 1976. Widowed after 14 years of marriage, Lubomyra returned to Toronto to be with her family. In 1979, she married Dr. Michael Palij, a librarian and historian in the Slavic Department of the Library of the University of Kansas in Lawrence. She moved to Lawrence, Kansas, where for 30 years Michael and Lubomyra dedicated all their time and energy to enlighten American academics about the history and culture of Ukraine. They also became benefactors of several religious and cultural organizations in Ukraine, and donated over 4000 books to Ukrainian libraries. Michael Palij passed away in Lawrence, Kansas in 2010. Lubomyra lived in Lawrence until her death on January 6, 2012. Lubomyra is survived by her stepson Peter Palij, his wife Linda Leibengood, and their children Maria and Mark Palij, of Ardsley, New York. Lubomyra was predeceased by her two brothers: Ihor Nicholas Welyhorsky (1927- 1997) of Toronto and Myroslaw Ivan Welyhorskyj (1920-2007) of Espanola. She will be sadly missed by: sister-in-law Velta Druvis Welyhorskyj of Espanola and the Shepitka family; cousin Alexandra Yashan Kowalsky of Toronto with the Onyschuk, Moskaliuk, Kowalsky, Morozov and Elijiw families; niece Christina Welyhorsky Senkiw of Toronto with her husband George and the Senkiw family; niece Maria Welyhorskyj of Port Dover, Ontario, with her husband Malcolm and her son Alastair Crombie; cousins William and Anne Melnychuk of Oshawa, Ontario; cousins Yaroslaw and Vera Kryshtalsky of New York City; and extended family in Canada, the United States and Ukraine. The family welcomes memorial contributions to the Palij Family Fund c/o University of Kansas Endowment, PO Box 928, Lawrence KS 66044. Online condolences may be sent to the funeral home in Kansas at www.rumsey-yost.com