TORONTO UKRAINIAN GENEALOGY GROUP presents

“The suitcase returns to Ukraine"

Maria Rypan speaks about Cardinal Lubomyr Husar family’s attempts to escape WWII

 Maria’s return of her family’s suitcase to Ukraine not only completed the circle for her family, but more importantly, graphically illustrated the story of what war does to families in a specially prepared exhibit for the 80th anniversary of the start of war at Museum of World War II in Kyiv.

It was a privilege to share Cardinal Lubomyr Husar’s family story for museum visitors to learn of the horrors and after effects of war.

This brown suitcase was the depository of her maternal grandparents family treasures. It was full of documents, diplomas, IDs, photos and precious stuff collected over years and slipped in for “safe” storage. There were grandmother Rostyslava’s hand-drawn family trees which gave Maria a great start in her genealogy quest.

As Maria emptied the precious luggage for it’s return to Ukraine, she found answers to loads of questions about several members of her family. They were documents neatly folded in half or in quarters and stuffed inside a small accordion file or in envelopes! The Husar family comes alive!!

This overwhelming experience of bringing over and placing the family suitcase into the showcase yielded many life-changing experiences ready to be shared.

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Maria Rypan – is the niece and goddaughter of the late Cardinal Lubomyr Husar. Daughter of his sister Martha and Zenon Wasylkevych. Granddaughter of Yaroslav Husar and Rostyslava Demczuk.

Maria is a bead artist, researcher and recognized expert on ‘gerdany’, Ukrainian-style of beadwork since 1995. She loves teaching, lecturing on beading global folk arts and about Cardinal Lubomyr Husar’s life and legacy in Canada, USA and in Ukraine.