Halyna Bycia Bilyk

Halyna (Bycia) Bilyk, 96, died peacefully April 25th, at the home of her daughter, Tamara Spafford and her son-in-law, Patrick Spafford in Georgia where she had lived for the past 25 years. Halyna was born in September of 1925 in the Chernihiv area of Ukraine. She lived through the atrocities of Stalin and the imposed famine of 1932-3 in Ukraine (Holodomor). During the war years she was forced to work in occupied Poland and subsequently, at the end of WWII, ended up in a Displaced Persons Camp in Austria. While attending pre-med classes at the University of Innsbruck she met Roman, a fellow Ukrainian refugee. They fell in love and married so that they could be together as refugees were boarding ships to other countries that would receive them. Halyna and Roman immigrated to Buenos Aires, Argentina where they started a family with the birth of their son, Alexander (Lesyk). After 8 years in Argentina, Halyna and Roman were able to save up enough money to buy airline tickets to Miami and bus tickets to Rochester, New York and join extended family. Life in Rochester centered around family, the Ukrainian community and on providing the best life and education for their two children. Halyna was employed at the University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital as a laboratory technician for the Neuropathology department. In 1988, Halyna retired to lovingly help take care of her granddaughter, Katya. Her most joyous time was to be with her grandchildren: Adrian, Jeremy, Stefan, Katya and Alexandra. Her name endearingly became “Bycia” to all. She also was fortunate to live to see her 4 great-grandchildren: Nicholas, Melania, Matthew, and Elaina, her namesake. She is survived by her daughter, Tamara Spafford and her husband, Pat Spafford of Canton, Georgia; her son Alex Bilyk and his wife Christina Cherwinsky of Toronto, Ontario; her grandson Adrian Bilyk and his wife Adrianna Bilyk of Toronto, Ontario; her grandson Jeremy Spafford of Eugene, Oregon; her grandson Stefan Bilyk of Chicago, Illinois; her granddaughter Katya Glass and her husband Zack Glass of Alpharetta, Georgia and her granddaughter Alexandra Spafford of Canton, Georgia. Halyna will be buried next to Roman at Arlington Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia. A memorial service will be held for Halyna Bilyk at the Alpharetta Presbyterian Church at 10 am on May 7th. Following services, a “Celebration of Life” reception will be held at the home of Pat and Tamara Spafford. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to The Lionheart School, https://thelionheartschool.com/make-a-gift-form

Halyna Bycia Bilyk

September 22, 1925 - April 25, 2022