Memorable Manitobans: Michael H. Marunchak (1914-2004)

Social worker, historian, community activist.

Born at Dalesheva, Ukraine on 4 October 1914, he completed his primary schooling there then studied at the University of Lviv (1936-1940) and earned a PhD in Law at Prague University (1941). A Ukrainian nationalist and Holocaust survivor, he spent some of the war years in Nazi concentrations camps. Bearing witness to that experience, he helped form and lead the League of Ukrainian Political Prisoners. After his arrival in Canada in 1948 with his wife Natalia, he attended the University of Manitoba where he attained a degree in Social Work in 1955. Upon graduation, he went to work for the Child Guidance Clinic in the Winnipeg School Division where he remained until his retirement.

He was involved in the Ukrainian Canadian Committee and the World Congress of Free Ukrainians. He served as President of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences in Canada, the Markian Shashkevych Centre in Winnipeg, and other community organizations. He authored books about Ukrainians in Canada, including Ukrainian Pioneers of Alberta (1964) and The Ukrainian Canadians: A History (1970), as well as articles and studies on the Ukrainian diaspora, compiling a considerable private archive of materials related to Ukrainian-Canadian history. He also served as editor of various publications.

He died at Winnipeg on 21 November 2004 and was buried in the All Saints Cemetery. He was survived by his wife Natalia and two children.

Sources:

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 25 November 2004.

This page was prepared by Lois Braun.

Page revised: 31 October 2020

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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