Peter Bobrek

Almighty Eternal God!

We, Your children, are infinitely grateful to have had among us, our now deceased Ivan, upon whom you had bestowed the precious gift of life.

Just like in the Holy Scriptures, when the chosen people were looking forward to the promised land, Ivan parents, Mykola Bobrek and Sofia, nee Lukachevytch, were dreaming about moving to the free world, in order to give their family and seven children a better future. Ivan parents were going throughout tough times, working hard in the village owned collective fields of what was then Communist Yougoslavia. During this time, they lost their oldest son, Stefan, who was the first one in the family to express the desire to leave the country, and was looking for ways to emigrate to the United States.

Due to their efforts, they finally got the authorization to leave Yougoslavia, but not all ofthem. Ivan could not leave the country because he had received a stipend to help him with his studies. The government wanted him to reimburse the amount they came up with, which was a lot and made it impossible for him to comply. For a whole year, Ivan went thru a hard time, alone, wandering around and missing his family. In the meantime, his parents, after arriving in the United States, settled in the state of Rhodes Island, working at a chicken farm, saving every penny in order to be able to pay back Ivan's stipend. Ivan was also facing another problem: he was expected to enlist in Tito's Yougoslavian Army but he got away with it overcoming a lot of difficulties.

Finally, Ivan flew to Kennedy Airport in New York in December 1962 and was reunited with his family, feeling like he was born again. Nothing could stop Ivan on his way to assimilate himself to the new way of life on the new continent. Ivan's life in a new country left a deep imprint, not only in the hearts of his large family, but in the whole Ukrainian community, in this city of Willimantic. Thanks to Ivan and his family, many new immigrants could come to this country, and among them, my own family who was still young at that time. Ivan was our sponsor, he sent in the necessary documents and helped us to get a loan to cover the cost of our flight to the United States. Upon our arrival, we stayed over a year with Ivan's father, Mykola, until we found a permanent job.

Almighty Eternal God! Take the soul of our dear Ivan in a "bright place where there will be no pain, sadness, suffering, but only eternal life and happiness". I hope your soul, Ivan, will be reunited with your deceased father, Mykola, your deceased brothers Stefan and Dmytro, your grandfather and grandmother, and all those who were part of your life, and who now rest in peace. And for now, we will, glorifying God, follow our designated short path in this life, trying to reach our main goal, our encounter in eternity with our Creator.

YOUR MEMORY WILL LIVE FOREVER!

 

(For a copy of how this eulogy was read, in it's native Ukrainian language, click here.)