Alexander Malycky

MALYCKY, Alexander Alexander Malycky, beloved husband of Nancy Malycky and beloved father of Natalie Stewart and Andrew Malycky, passed away peacefully on March 16, 2011, at the age of 85 years. Born in Chortkiv, Ukraine on November 15, 1925, Alexander was the only child of Mykola and Irina Malycky (nee Pihut). Alexander spent his childhood in Chortkiv where he graduated from the local Gymnasium (high school). Subsequently caught up in world events he fought for his country during World War II. After the war, he came to Alberta and was reunited with his aunt, uncle and cousins who had immigrated here. Alexander received his Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Alberta. He taught at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio where he met his future wife, Nancy Marie Moloney. They were married on June 2, 1956. Alexander received his PhD at the University of Cincinnati in 1961. He moved his family from Cincinnati to Calgary in 1964 to accept a position teaching at the University of Calgary in the Germanic and Slavic Studies Department. During his twenty-seven year tenure at the U of C Alexander published over 100 scholarly articles and retired in 1990 with Emeritus status. Alexander was a co-founder of The Research Center for Canadian Ethnic Studies at the University of Calgary and the Canadian Ethnic Studies Association. An accomplished linguist fluent in six Slavic and Romance languages, Alexander was also an eager student of numerous other languages as diverse as Chinese, Arabic and Hebrew. Alexander spent his rewarding retirement years focusing on his passion for Ukrainian philately and collecting thematically Ukrainian items. He continued to publish articles about the many aspects of life that fascinated him as reflected by his collection of over 10,000 books in dozens of languages. Alexander was also a great animal lover. Alexander is dearly missed by his wife and children, their spouses Craig Stewart and Cynthia Malycky, his grandchildren Christina, Brendan, Paulette, Mitchell, Charlotte and Shannon, and his cousins and their children in Edmonton, Toronto and in Ukraine and by his wife's relatives in New York State. The Panakhyda Prayer Service and Funeral Mass were conducted at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church over Sunday, March 20 and Monday March 21, 2011. The family thanks the staff at the Foothills Hospital Unit 62 for the excellent care provided to Alexander during his illness. In lieu of flowers, a donation in Alexanders memory can be made to the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko ( www.shevchenkofoundation.com )