Natalie E. Hewko died on July 13, 2020, in Ann Arbor, Mich., at the age of 85.
She was a loving wife and mother, outstanding teacher, active in her community and beloved by friends and colleagues.
She will be greatly missed, but her legacy lives on through her family and all those whose lives she touched with her boundless energy, warmth and compassion.
Natalie was born on January 6, 1935 in Ukraine, the daughter of the Rev. Bohdan Osidach and Olena Chyzowych-Osidach. During World War II, her family fled West in the face of the advancing Soviet army. After spending several years in displaced persons camps in southern Germany, they emigrated to the United States.
Natalie graduated from Girls Catholic Central High School in Detroit, Class of 1953, and from the University of Detroit in 1958. She also obtained a master’s degree from Oakland University.
In 1956, she married Lubomyr Hewko and they would have celebrated 64 years of marriage in late July.
Natalie was an elementary school teacher for many years in Clarkston and also in Port Clinton, Ohio. She was adored by her students and respected by their parents. In 1994, Natalie was awarded the Clarkston Foundation’s highest honor – “Exemplary Teacher of the Year.”
After retiring, she worked as an instructor and student teacher supervisor at Oakland University.
She was very active in the Ukrainian-American community, the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America where she held numerous leadership positions over the years. Natalie enjoyed acting, reciting poetry and had an ability to delight audiences with perfectly delivered humor.
In addition to her husband of 64 years, she is survived by her three children, Marc (Lisa McDonald), Annetta (Michael Simpson) and John (Margarita) Hewko, and her five grandchildren, Eugene and Ira Simpson, Timothy and Andrew Hewko, and Maria Hewko, one niece, Maria Woznyj, as well as cousins in the U.S., Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic and Ukraine.
Visitation and funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 1 at the St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church, 26401 St. Josaphat Dr., Warren, Mich. Public visitation will begin at 9 a.m., followed by a celebratory mass at 10 a.m..
Interment will be at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Mich. For further information, please call the Buhay Funeral Chapel at 313-891-6577.
Those who wish to remember Natalie in a special way may make gifts in lieu of flowers to the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation (UCEF) to support the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine or to the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America. Donations can be made online at www.ucef.org or by mail to UCEF, 2247 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60622, or at www.unwla.org. Please note that any contributions are in memory of Natalie Hewko.