1924
Wasyl
2012
Wasyl 'Bill' Zazula
January 1, 1924 — June 13, 2012
Wasyl “Bill” Zazula, 88, retired railroad section worker from Cut Bank, died suddenly from an abdominal aortic aneurysm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012, at the Northern Rockies Medical Center. Visitation is Monday from 1:00 until 5:00 pm at the Whitted Funeral Chapel in Cut Bank, followed by a 6:45 Rosary and a 7:00 pm Vigil Service at St. Margaret Catholic Church. Funeral Mass will be 10:30 am Tuesday, June 19, at the church. Burial will follow in the Crown Hill Cemetery. Condolences for the family may be posted at www.whittedfuneralchapel.com.
Survivors include his wife of 66 years, Anna of Cut Bank; son, Zenon Zazula of Redmond, WA; nieces, Christine S. Olinyk Georgedes of Poway, CA, Alexandra (Sandy) Olinyk of San Diego, CA, Olena Tymshie of Dublany, Ukraine and Irena Zazula of Samber, Ukraine.
He is preceded in death by his parents Dmytro & Karoline (Skolniki) Zazula; daughter, Irene Zazula; sister, Olena Zazula and brother, Walter Zazula.
He was born Jan. 1, 1924 at Dublany, Poland (now the Ukraine), where he was raised. In 1942, at the age of 18, he was taken by the invading German Army to work as slave labor on a farm near Darrensiemen, Germany where he worked for the remainder of the war.
While there he met and courted the lovely Anna Zacharchuk. They were married February 19, 1946 at Heilbronn, Germany, in a double ring ceremony with friends Ted and Anna Danczak. In 1948 they had their first child, a son Zenon, at Karlsruhe, Germany.
The post-war years from 1946 to 1950, the family spent at the Displaced Persons camp near Karlsruhe, Germany, where thousands of people who were displaced during the war were either repatriated to their original homeland or sent to other countries that would accept them.
In 1950 Wasyl and Anna found a sponsor in Herb Schafer of Cut Bank. So with $5.00 in his pockets, Wasyl, with his young family, immigrated directly to Cut Bank, where two days after arriving he went to work on the Cut Bank section for the Great Northern Railway. Wasyl and Anna had their second child, Irene, in 1953 in Cut Bank. Irene passed away in 1991 in a tragic accident.
Wasyl worked for 34 years for BNSF, retiring in 1984. However, retiring did not mean stop working for Wasyl and he often worked 10 hour days doing gardening, lawn care and snow shoveling for local residents around Cut Bank including the Hupps, the Bells, the Frarys, the Krapfs, among a number of them. He also did custodial work for much of his years in Cut Bank including Montana Power Company, the Cut Bank Library, the Texaco Company and others. On top of it all he maintainned his own house and yard in a meticulous manner and was well known for his gardening and flower raising skills. Wasyl was proficient in Ukranian, Polish, English, and Russian languages,
Wasyl was a loving man who was devoted to taking care of his family. He often said all he ever knew what to do was work hard and he raised that saying to an art form during his life. One always knew where you stood with Wasyl as his honest and open opinions and thoughts were readily recognized. He had a wry sense of humor that not only recognized the absurdities of life but a sharp understanding of human nature. He enjoyed a shot of vodka and he and Anna frequently entertained their numerous friends with long evenings of celebrating life. Wasyl will be sorely missed by all the people who ever came in contact with him.
Survivors include his wife of 66 years, Anna of Cut Bank; son, Zenon Zazula of Redmond, WA; nieces, Christine S. Olinyk Georgedes of Poway, CA, Alexandra (Sandy) Olinyk of San Diego, CA, Olena Tymshie of Dublany, Ukraine and Irena Zazula of Samber, Ukraine.
He is preceded in death by his parents Dmytro & Karoline (Skolniki) Zazula; daughter, Irene Zazula; sister, Olena Zazula and brother, Walter Zazula.
He was born Jan. 1, 1924 at Dublany, Poland (now the Ukraine), where he was raised. In 1942, at the age of 18, he was taken by the invading German Army to work as slave labor on a farm near Darrensiemen, Germany where he worked for the remainder of the war.
While there he met and courted the lovely Anna Zacharchuk. They were married February 19, 1946 at Heilbronn, Germany, in a double ring ceremony with friends Ted and Anna Danczak. In 1948 they had their first child, a son Zenon, at Karlsruhe, Germany.
The post-war years from 1946 to 1950, the family spent at the Displaced Persons camp near Karlsruhe, Germany, where thousands of people who were displaced during the war were either repatriated to their original homeland or sent to other countries that would accept them.
In 1950 Wasyl and Anna found a sponsor in Herb Schafer of Cut Bank. So with $5.00 in his pockets, Wasyl, with his young family, immigrated directly to Cut Bank, where two days after arriving he went to work on the Cut Bank section for the Great Northern Railway. Wasyl and Anna had their second child, Irene, in 1953 in Cut Bank. Irene passed away in 1991 in a tragic accident.
Wasyl worked for 34 years for BNSF, retiring in 1984. However, retiring did not mean stop working for Wasyl and he often worked 10 hour days doing gardening, lawn care and snow shoveling for local residents around Cut Bank including the Hupps, the Bells, the Frarys, the Krapfs, among a number of them. He also did custodial work for much of his years in Cut Bank including Montana Power Company, the Cut Bank Library, the Texaco Company and others. On top of it all he maintainned his own house and yard in a meticulous manner and was well known for his gardening and flower raising skills. Wasyl was proficient in Ukranian, Polish, English, and Russian languages,
Wasyl was a loving man who was devoted to taking care of his family. He often said all he ever knew what to do was work hard and he raised that saying to an art form during his life. One always knew where you stood with Wasyl as his honest and open opinions and thoughts were readily recognized. He had a wry sense of humor that not only recognized the absurdities of life but a sharp understanding of human nature. He enjoyed a shot of vodka and he and Anna frequently entertained their numerous friends with long evenings of celebrating life. Wasyl will be sorely missed by all the people who ever came in contact with him.
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