Obituary of Maria Wowk

Maria Wowk, age 98, passed away peacefully on November 16th, 2021 surrounded by family at home in Fairview, Pennsylvania. Maria was born on April 29, 1923 in Ukraine. She left Ukraine to escape the communist regime and became a displaced person in the DP camps in Germany. There she earned a seamstress certificate and a dental degree. She played guitar, and danced & sang as a member of a Ukrainian performing group in Germany. Maria met her husband in a DP camp, and after WWII they moved to the USA, settling in Minnesota where she was active in the Ukrainian community and church. She taught Ukrainian language and enjoyed promoting Ukrainian Easter egg art at local events and neighborhood schools. For some time, Maria worked at a dental firm. She also worked alongside her husband in keeping bees and picking mushrooms, and sharing the products with family & friends. A lover of poetry, she frequently memorized favorite passages. Maria was preceded in death by her husband, Wolodymyr. She will be deeply missed by her family. She is survived by her children, Anna (Alex) Kosenko, Victor (Chrystia) Wowk, Tatiana Riabokin, and Elizabeth (Peter) Piddoubny; grandchildren, Tasia, Bohdan, Oleh, Walter, Andrew, Malanka, Mykola, Maria, Andre, and Adrian; great-grandchildren; sister Vira; and her extended family in Ukraine. Visitation begins at 5:00PM on Friday, December 3, 2021 at Anderson Funeral Home, 1401 Arcade Street (Hwy 61), Saint Paul, Minnesota, with a Panakhyda Service at 6:00PM. Funeral Service is 11:30AM on Saturday, December 4, 2021 at St. Katherine Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 1600 Hwy 96 West, Arden Hills, Minnesota 55112. Interment at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Maplewood, Minnesota. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Katherine Ukrainian Orthodox Church.