Michael Zacharko

Michael Zacharko

AGE: 90 • Manville

Most individuals choose the direction their future will take. Michael Zacharko's life path was determined by 20th century history. It was his life experiences that stirred him to actively support Ukrainian independence and embrace his love for America. It was his faith in God that supported and nourished him while living under oppressive Soviet Communism. At age 20, Michael was taken from his family to Nazi Germany as forced labor. After the war, Michael spent four years in displaced persons camps, where he held leadership positions in police and fire departments, and was a courier for the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists which was the Ukrainian government in exile. Michael immigrated to the United States and was finally able to live a life free of oppression as an American citizen.

Mychaylo "Michael" Zacharko, 90, of Manville, fell asleep in the Lord Wednesday, June 26, 2013, at Somerset Medical Center surrounded by family and friends. The eldest of Hryhoriy and Paraskewia (Lucyk) Zacharko, Michael was born November 19, 1922 in the village of Piddubci, Lviwska oblast (province), Halychyna, Ukraine. Mr. Zacharko was employed as a master packer at Johns-Manville Corp., Manville,

retiring in 1985 after 35 years there. He was a member of the Johns-Manville Quarter Century Club. Michael arrived in the United States, with his wife of one year, on October 12, 1949 and resided in Manville until his death. In 1950, he became one of the founders of Saint Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church in Manville and became an active parishioner. He was a member of the church committee, St. Michael's Brotherhood and the church's performing arts group. Skilled in many trades, as a carpenter, painter, mason, tiler, roofer, landscaper and artist, he would ensure the beauty of the Lord's house. As a tailor, he would repair the priests' and altar boys' vestments. He sang bass/baritone in the church choir and in 1966 became the church cantor and choir director, retiring in 2010.

Michael participated in annual pilgrimages to The Ukrainian Sisters of St. Basil the Great, Fox Chase, Jenkintown, Pa., and the Sister Servants of Mary Immaculate convent, Sloatsburg, NY. He visited the sick at their homes and in the hospitals. Michael was the Secretary/Organizer of the Ukrainian National Association, Branch #349, Manville from 1966 to 2010 and the President of the Central New Jersey District Committee of this fraternal organization from 1978 to 2010. As a delegate to the U.N.A., he attended every quadrennial convention since 1966 in various cities in the U.S. and Canada, many times being chosen as a committee member or chair. He was a member of the Ukrainian Youth Association (CYM), vice-president of the

Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (U.C.C.A.), Branch 22, New Brunswick, a longtime active member of the Organization for the Four Freedoms of Ukraine (O.F.F.U.), a solicitor and contributor for the Ukrainian National Fund and a member and contributor to the United Ukrainian American Relief Committee, the Ukrainian Veterans and the American Red Cross. Michael would attend numerous marches and demonstrations in New York and Washington, DC in support of Ukrainian independence from Soviet oppression.

Besides his parents, Michael is predeceased by his loving wife of 64 years, Anna, who died on December 1, 2012; brothers, Wasyl Zacharko (1946) and Roman Zacharko (2001), and a sister, Hafika Shamrai (2012). Surviving to cherish Michael's memory is a son, Stephan and daughter-in-law, Olga, of Manville; a daughter, Olga Kostuk and son-in-law, Walter, of Cossayuna, NY; a daughter, Dorothy Anna Blaszkiw and son-in-law, Lubomyr, of Columbia, MD; grandchildren, Stephan M. Zacharko (Alison), Roman Zacharko (Jessica), Stephanie Kostuk (Jose Gonzalez), Mark Kostuk; Michael, Anna, and Maria Blaszkiw; and a great granddaughter, Sonja Gonzalez. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews, all in Ukraine.

May God Almighty place him in a place of repose and peace. Vichnaya Pamyat! Everlasting memory.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend calling hours at Fucillo & Warren Funeral Home, 205 South Main Street, Manville, NJ 08835 on Monday, July 1 from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. A parastas will be offered at 7:30 p.m. Additional calling time will be on Tuesday, July 2 from 8:00 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. A Divine Liturgy will be celebrated on Tuesday, July 2 beginning 9:00 a.m. at St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church, 1700 Brooks Blvd., Hillsborough. Interment will follow in St. Andrew's Ukrainian Cemetery, South Bound Brook. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Michael's memory can be made to St. Michael's U.C.C. Building Fund, 1700 Brooks Boulevard, Hillsborough, N.J. 08844. To send condolences to the family or sign an online guest book, please visit www.Fucil loandWarrenFuneralHome.com.