Joyce Baziuk

1926 - 2025

Baziuk, Joyce

(nee Compton)

Sep 22, 1926 - Jul 31, 2025

Passed away peacefully on July 31, 2025. She was 98 years old. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, to Ferne and Albert Compton, she graduated from Texas State College for Women in 1948 and became an elementary school teacher. She completed her master's degree at the University of Houston during the summers. In 1955 she accepted a position with the US Army in Heidelberg, Germany, teaching elementary school for children of Americans serving in the U.S. military. While in Germany, she met Volodymyr (Walter) Baziuk, a refugee from Ukraine who was a medical student at the University of Heidelberg. They were married in 1957. After Volodymyr graduated from medical school in 1958, the couple sailed for New York. They eventually settled in Brookside, New Jersey, where Volodymyr established a successful medical practice and the couple raised four children: Gena (Rabie) Stephan, Marta (Taras) Baziuk-Koznarsky, Stephen (Lisa Capese) Baziuk, and Kathryn (Gerald) Dean. The couple lived in Brookside for more than 40 years before moving to Williamsville, New York, in their retirement. Joyce Baziuk was grandmother of Amanda (Nicholas) Freeman, Jules (Alexandra) Stephan, Paul (Shireen) Dean, Nicholas (Pierina Venturi) Baziuk, Dwight (Taylor) Dean, Christine (Chase) Whitt, Thomas (Casey) Dean, and Tymish Koznarsky; great-grandmother of eight; sister-in-law of the late Irene (Andrew) Wolosenko; and aunt to Jarema (Danuta), Ihor (Judy Frabotta), and Roxanna (Michael Coryell) Wolosenko. Joyce Baziuk created a warm and welcoming home, applying her artistic talents to all aspects of life, whether reupholstering a sofa, gardening, producing costumes for Brookside's Fourth of July Parade or Halloween, decorating Christmas cookies, or building a dollhouse for a grandchild. Her children fondly remember their mother opening her kitchen to their friends to decorate Ukrainian Easter eggs. She was a dedicated community member, participating in the PTA, volunteering as a "room mother" for her children's classes at Mendham Township Elementary School, serving as a Brownie and Cub Scouts troop leader, and tutoring and teaching art on Saturdays in a program for disadvantaged children from Newark. Joyce Baziuk will be remembered for her common sense, decency, and strong sense of fairness. She adopted her husband's life-long commitment to an independent Ukraine as her own. A close follower of the news, she was tireless in her advocacy efforts, writing dozens of letters to the media over the years. The family will hold a private service to honor her memory. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Ukrainian Catholic University https://ucef.ca/donate/ or the Kyiv Mohyla University https://www.kmfoundation.com/donate. Condolences may be shared at www.GRECOFUNERAL.com