Neshanic Station, NJ— Stephen Szyszka, 89, passed into the embrace of Our Lord on Thursday, May 1, 2014 at his home with loving family by his side.  Born on July 19, 1924 in the village of Toporiv in the Lviv oblast of Ukraine, he is son of the late Ivan and Alexandra (Chuchman) Szyszka.

Stephen dedicated his life to his family, the Ukrainian community, the Ukrainian church and the Ukrainian Scouting Organization, Plast.  Having survived the Nazi youth camp where he was taken by the Germans in 1944 during World War II, Stephen eventually settled in Buffalo, NY.  He was an active parish member of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church  and St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Buffalo, NY, as well as St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hillsborough, NJ.  He enjoyed signing in the church choirs and Burlaky, a Ukrainian choir.  He was active in the community, especially Plast:  a member of the Chota Krylatykh fraternity, a camp director, and a leader of Plast-Buffalo.  In 1952, he married Gloria (Czeslawa) Choma with whom he lived happily until 1992 when she was called to the Lord.  He retired from Chevrolet-Buffalo after working there for twenty-five years.  Other passions he shared included forestry, gardening, walking, and reading.  In recent years, he lived with his daughter, Mary Makar, and her family.

Besides his parents, Stephen was predeceased by three brothers, Mykola Szyszka who died in the Ukraine, Lew Szyszka who died in Montreal, Canada, and Jaroslav Szyszka who died in Latvia.

Grieving Stephen's passing are his loving children, Mary and her husband John Makar, and Stephen Leo Szyszka and his wife Julia (Fedyk); He will be deeply missed by five cherished grandchildren, Thomas, Mark, and William Makar and Larissa and Stephen Roman (Gogo) Szyszka; and close and extended family in the United States, Canada, Ukraine and Latvia.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend visitation at Countryside Funeral Home, 724 Route 202 North, Three Bridges, NJ 08887 on Sunday, May 4 from 3:30-6:30 p.m. with the Requiem Panakhyda service at 5:30 p.m. with Fr. Orest Kunderevych officiating.  Additional visitation will be at Melvin Sliwinski Funeral Home, 85 George Urban Boulevard, Cheektowaga, NY 14225 on Tuesday, May 6 from 3-7 p.m. with the Panakhyda at 6:00 p.m.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, May 7 beginning at 9:15 a.m. at the funeral home followed by a funeral liturgy at 10:00 a.m. at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, 308 Fillmore Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14224 with Fr. Marion Procyk officiating.  Committal words and interment will follow at St. Matthew's Cemetery (Garden of St. Luke), 2644 Clinton Street, Buffalo, NY 14224.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Stephen's name to United Ukrainian American Relief Committee, 1206 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111 www.uuarc.org ; St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, 308 Fillmore Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14224; St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church, 1700 Brooks Boulevard, Hillsborough, NJ 08844; Plast-Chota Krylatykh c/o Danylo Darewych, 2074 Feldwood Road, Mississauga, Ontario, L4X1E9, Canada; Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation, 2247 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622 www.ucef.org ; or Kyiv Sobor of the Holy Resurrection, 161 Glenbrook Road, Stamford, CT 06902-3099 with checks made payable to Eparchy of Stamford www.kyivsobor.ugcc.org.ua .