Ivan Rusyn's Obituary
Ivan Rusyn was born into a farmer family in Burtal Village, Lviv Oblast of Ukraine on November 8, 1937 to Ksenia Babak (1902-1994) and Ivan Rusyn (1886-1962). His father Ivan had graduated from the gymnasium, and therefore tried to educate his children. Ivan was the youngest of a large family. In 1954-59, Ivan studied civil engineering and geodesy at the Lviv Polytechnic Institute. He was placed on the job as an engineer surveyor at the R&D Center “Kyyivoblproekt”. He went on to graduate school at the Kyiv Institute of Civil Engineering.Ivan Married Zhanna Khomenko in 1964, and they’ve been happily married for 55 years, through happy years and difficult ones. They had one daughter Oksana and one son Ivan, and later four grandchildren Maxim, Andriy, Andrew, and Marie. Ivan played a huge part in his grandchildren’s lives and upbringings, and his and Zhanna’s strong love, friendship and marriage has been an inspiration to their entire family.Ivan had a lifelong passion for Ukrainian language and culture, which was heavily repressed in the Soviet Union. He was a political prisoner in a Soviet labor camp for seven years (1977-1983), and was an active participant in the Popular Movement of Ukraine, which sought political independence and democracy in Ukraine. He wrote several memoirs of his experiences, most comprehensively in “Nevilnychi Mandri” (2015).Ivan passed away on November 25th, 2019 among his loved ones, after a hard-fought battle. Ivan will be fondly remembered for his easy going nature, his sense of humor, his good advice, and his tender love for his family. KHPG Biography of Ivan Rusyn: http://museum.khpg.org/en/index.php?id=1564671070
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