Jury Ichtiarow, 82, Enjoyed Vacations

He was born April 8, 1924 in Donets'k, Ukraine. During World War II, he escaped the Communist controlled Ukraine. He earned his Engineering Degree in from the University of Bonn, Germany. He came to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1952, and lived there until 2003 when he moved to Ashburn, Virginia. In 2005, he moved to The Gardens of French Creek Assisted Living in Avon, Ohio.

He retired as Design Engineer from Link Belt, F. M. C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1991. Mr. Ichtiarow was a member of St. Mary Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He enjoyed vacations and visiting family and friends.

Jury was extremely active in the political welfare of Ukraine, and worked tirelessly to promote Ukrainian freedom from the Soviet regime in hopes that, one day, Ukraine would gain her eventual independence. He was a member of ODUM (Association of American Youth of Ukrainian Descent), where he was a volunteer commandant of counselor and youth camps in Accord, New York. Jury held the position of president of the Ukrainian Democratic Republican Party in America, which worked to promote democracy in Ukraine, and preserved the ideals of ODUM.

Additionally, Mr. Ichtiarow was active in countless other groups and committees in the diaspora (in the U.S. where there was widespread settlement of Ukrainians) and in Ukraine. He served as the vice-president of the Ukrainian-American Coordinating Council, whose key objective was to preserve the Ukrainian culture after the fall of communism. He also took part in the Ukrainian World Coordinating Council. He served on the Committee of the 50th Anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-1933, in which he testified to a congressional committee investigating the tragedies in that time. Mr Ichtiarow was on the International Committee commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Death of Symon Petliura, the Committee Commemorating the 1000th Anniversary of Christianity in Ukraine in 1988, and worked towards the worldwide recognition of Ukrainian independence in 1991.

When the independence of Ukraine was proclaimed in 1991, Jury traveled to Ukraine as a delegate of the Ukrainian National Republic Government in Exile, of which he served on the executive board as charge d'affaires. As a leader of this organization, Mr. Ichtiarow and others handed over archived information and treasures of Ukraine to the first president Leonid Kravchuk. He also met with the second president of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, and several other notable Ukrainian politicians including the current president, Viktor Yushchenko. He spoke to Ukrainian nationalists of the presence of the Ukrainian language outside of Ukraine, and encouraged legislators and politicians to move toward a "more-Ukrainian" government. His fortitude led him to serve as the vice-president of the Research Institute of Modern Ukrainian History in New York. He belonged to many other Ukrainian organizations including the Bahriany Foundation, the Ukrainian Educational and Cultural Center in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, and served on the board of "Tryzub" in Horsham, PA.

He is survived by his wife of 46 years Raisa (nee Kowalenko) Ichtiarow of Avon, Ohio; son George Ichtiarow of Columbia, Maryland, daughter Mrs. Julia (Orest) Kolybabiuk of Helsinki, Finland; granddaughters Tatyana and Sophia Kolybabiuk of Helsinki, Finland.

He was preceeded in death by his parients Dmytro and Alexandra (nee Bojchenko) Ichtiarow and subsequently his sister Lidia Makarenko.

Funeral services were Saturday in Philadelphia. Burial followed in Saint Andrew's Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery, South Bound Brook, New Jersey.

The family suggests memorial contributions to ODUM USA, Association of American Youth of Ukrainian Descent, c/o Nata Reidy, or Bahriany Foundation, Inc., c/o Nata Reidy, 1783 East 31st Street, Lorain, Ohio 44055.

Funeral Arrangements were by Richard J. Reidy Funeral Home.