DR. OREST H.T. RUDZIK

DR. OREST H.T. RUDZIK At Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, on December 8, 2016, from cranial injuries resulting from a fall. Orest was born in Toronto in 1936, the son of Ukrainian parents. He earned his Honours B.A. (University College) at the University of Toronto, his M.A. from the University of Chicago (where he was a William Rainey Harper Fellow) and a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. He taught in the Department of English at University College from 1961 to 1986, during which time he was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Humanities Center of the Johns Hopkins University from 1968 - 1969. He created a Canadian Literature Programme for Atkinson College at York University. After completing his LLB (with honours) at Osgoode Hall Law School, he received his Call to the Bar of the Law Society of Upper Canada in March of 1975. In his law pursuits, he served as Senior Counsel to the Public Guardian and Trustee of the Province of Ontario. He was a speaker at many academic conferences and published both academic and legal papers. He was active in the Ukrainian community becoming the President of the Ontario Ukrainian-Canadian Committee and served as a member of the Ontario Multicultural Committee. Then he served as First National Vice President of the UCC, as it then was and in a variety of positions with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Federation. He spent a sabbatical year from 1993 - 1994 in Kyiv, as Director of Law Training and provided for young Ukrainian professors by way of exchange with Canada, the U.S. and Europe, through the auspices of the Ukrainian Legal Foundation. He monitored that programme for two years. Also, he was engaged in three of the quasi-war criminal cases as launched by the Department of Justice (Canada) against naturalized Ukrainian post-war citizens, against who allegations of fraud and consequent sanctions of deportation were threatened. He continued his law practice, restricted mainly to estates and estates litigation. Also, he returned to his academic origins by pursuing research into a variety of areas of intellectual history, including that of the assassination of Simeon Petliura and the judicial proceedings consequent upon his murder. He ended a 50 year association with the University when he became a member of the Senior Faculty at the University of Toronto, a member of its Executive Committee and was given the title of Senator (which he did not use). Orest is survived by his wife Maureen Ellis, two daughters Katherine and Nicola, step-son Kevin (Lippert), step-daughter Kari (Lippert), eleven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He will be very much missed as a proud husband, father, grandfather (didi) and great-granddad (gg). Many thanks to the very kind doctors and staff at the Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital who worked on his case. There will be a private Funeral followed by a Memorial Celebration of his life at the Ward Funeral Home, 109 Reynolds Street, Oakville, on December 18, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, a contribution to either the Canadian Diabetes Association or the Senior Faculty at the University of Toronto would be appreciated.