Mrs. Tatjana (Tania) Boytchuk

Obituary

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Tatjana (Tania) Boytchuk, May 7, 2023, at age 97 at the Ukrainian Canadian Care Centre.  Tatjana was predeceased by her second husband Bill Boytchuk, first husband Stefan Kowal and her dear daughter Alexandra. Loving and never forgetting her is her daughter Sylvia (Brian). Ever adoring are her grandsons Christian (Marina), Daniel (Crystal) and Andrew (Jenna) and her great grandchildren Owen, Connor, Alesya and Alexander and many relatives in Canada and Ukraine.

She was wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, roles she wore with pride. She had humble beginnings, born in a small village near Kiev on Feb. 9, 1926 - Shevchenkove, Cherkaska Oblast, Ukraine. She was the youngest of seven children of Alexie Burowa and Alexandra Wasylenko, and her early life was happy and peaceful.  It was not to last.  First the Russians and then the Nazis shattered her world.

As a result of being sent to Siberia, her father died when she was five years old, leaving her mother to look after the children and survive the Holodomor. She never forgot the many people begging for food and the wagons rolling down the street collecting the dead. In 1941, Tatjana was sent to Germany in a cattle car, as an Ostarbeiter (slave labourer) for the Nazis.  She worked on a farm south of Munich and remembers being hungry all the time.  It was in Munich that she met and married her first husband Stefan Kowal.  Alexandra, their first daughter, was born in Munich and became the centre of their world. They were focused on making sure she had a good life with many opportunities. When the war ended, they were given a choice of countries that were taking displaced people.  They chose Canada in 1949 and settled first in Ottawa and then moved to Toronto where their second daughter Sylvia was born.

Tatjana loved Canada.  She felt safe, had a bright future and could provide her children with many opportunities. Fate, however, would shatter her world again, when her daughter Alexandra died at the age of 21 and three years later her husband Stefan died at the age of 50. As devasted as she was, this was not going to be the end of a sad story.  She was resolute in building back her life and with her other daughter Sylvia, persevered in order to bring love and family back into their life.  Tatjana met and married Toronto City Councillor, Bill Boytchuk and together they spent 20 wonderful years.  They travelled, spent winters in Florida and took part in many community and Ukrainian events. She pursued her passions of cooking, gardening, sewing, crocheting, knitting, and embroidery but, most precious to her was guiding her grandchildren and great grandchildren, whom she loved fiercely. Ukrainian language and culture were the backdrop to most of her activities, but she maintained a strong dedication to Canada, the country that gave her so much.   Tatjana our mother and Baba will be missed and loved forever.

The family would like to thank the Ukrainian Canadian Care Centre, for the exceptional care they gave Tatjana.  In particular, we would like to thank Alesia and Danuta for their compassion and kindness.

In lieu of flowers we would suggest a donation to:

The Ukrainian Canadian Care Centre

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