Educator, community activist.
Born at Borchiw, Ukraine on 12 March 1904, as a orphan after the First World War she immigrated to Winnipeg in 1920 to live with an aunt, Joanna Westlake. She attended St. Mary's Academy to learn English. In 1923, she graduated with a BA degree from the University of Manitoba then taught at Stuartburn School (1923-1924) and Polson School (1925-1927) and served as Principal of Ethelbert School (1924-1925).
On 1 August 1925, she married physician Bronislaw Dyma at Winnipeg and they had two sons: Bernard Boris Dyma (1926-2009) and Donald Laurence Dyma (1930-2018). She served as a trustee for the Winnipeg School Division (1932-1935) and President of the League of Women Voters. She was a Liberal-Progressive candidate in the 1936 provincial general election and was narrowly defeated.
She was a founding member of the Ukrainian Canadian Women's Committee and became its first National President (1944). She was also a founding member and first President of the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League of Canada (UCWLC) and served as President for three terms (1944-1946, 1951-1953, 1961-1964). This organization united local Ukrainian Catholic parish leagues across Canada giving Ukrainian Catholic women a voice in their commitment to the mission of the Church. In 1989, the National UCWLC established the Mary Dyma Educational Fund offering scholarships to Ukrainian Catholic laywomen pursuing religious studies through an accredited program.
In recognition of her community service, she received a Shevchenko Medal (1962), a City of Winnipeg Community Service Award (1964), a Canadian Centennial Medal (1967), and a Papal Medal “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” (1983). A Ukrainian chapter of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire was named in her honour. She was identified by the Nellie McClung Foundation as a Manitoba Woman Trailblazer (2021).
She died at the Holy Family Home in Winnipeg on 12 October 1998 and was buried in the All Saints Cemetery.
Marriage registration [Mary Sawchak, Bronislaw Dyma], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Three women given medal,” Winnipeg Free Press, 7 July 1962, page 12.
Obituary [Bronislaw Dyma], Winnipeg Free Press, 28 April 1966.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 17 October 1998, page 64.
“Mary Dyma; Founder and First President of the UCWLC” by Jayne Paluck, Nasha Doroha, Summer issue 1, volume 31, 2001, page 18.
Obituary [Bernard Boris Dyma], Winnipeg Free Press, 28 February 2009.
“Winnipeg’s Archeparchy contributes national Presidents” by Stephanie Bilyj, Nasha Doroha, Fall issue 3 volume 34, 2009, page 18.
Obituary [Donald Laurence Dyma], Winnipeg Free Press, 8 September 2018.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and June Dutka.
Page revised: 15 August 2025
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