Olha Czmola (nee Ferencevych), 94, passed away peacefully on August 4’”, 2023. She was predeceased by her parents, Sofron and Eugenia Ferencevych, her siblings George and Roman Ferencevych and Ivanna Gorchynsky, and by her half-sisters Nadia Huber, Myroslawa Dragan and Maria Lohaza. Olha is survived by her children Bohdan (Lisa) and Olena (James) May, her grandchildren Andrew, Nicholas and Natalie (Mark) Rogers, her sister-in-law Irene Czmola, and many nieces and nephews.
Olha, who was called “Olya”, was born in Lviv, Ukraine on August 31st, 1928. After surviving WWII, she arrived in the United States in 1949 where, in 1950, she married the love of her life, lhor Czmola. Their family grew with the birth of two children, son Bohdan in 1951 and daughter Olena in 1955. Sadly her husband passed away suddenly in 1997. Having lived through the horrors of WWII in Ukraine and the loss of her husband at a relatively early age, Olya’s life was not always easy but she was a strong woman who never complained, was always of good thought and kind to everyone.
Olya was very proud of her Ukrainian heritage and very saddened by the recent situation in her beloved homeland. She prayed daily for the war to end. Olya dedicated her life to everything Ukrainian, mostly to “Plast”, our Ukrainian Scouting Organization, and to the hundreds of children she taught in St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic School from 1962 to 1988 as their kindergarten teacher. Her love for music was expressed by the numerous concerts she organized. Children sang while she accompanied them on the piano and recited the Ukrainian poems she taught them. Olya also taught in Buffalo’s Ukrainian Saturday School for many years and belonged to numerous Ukrainian organizations. She leaves behind a myriad of her handmade Ukrainian embroideries. They are priceless.
Music was her life. Nothing made her happier than having friends come to her home for an afternoon of singing. She would get behind the piano and play all her favorite Ukrainian songs while everyone sang along. She was always full of life and loved to laugh with family and friends. As the years went on and she struggled with walking and dementia, our Mama spent hours sitting on her recliner watching the different birds that flocked to her bird feeder. She worried when the seeds were gone because the birds were hungry. She also got so much joy from the red anthurium plant that Father Marijan Procyk and his daughter, Nadia, gave her years ago. Because it meant so much to her, this plant has been placed next to her coffin at the funeral home.The family thanks everyone that came to visit her regularly. This brightened up her long days and she was so grateful. We hope Mama is now at peace, playing on a piano and singing in heaven. She will be sorely missed by all those that knew and loved her.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Olya’s favorite place on this earth, namely our Ukrainian Scouting Organization’s camp in North Collins, NY. Checks can be made out to “Plast-Novyi Sokil” and mailed to: Plast-Novyi Sokil, PO Box 218, Spring Brook, NY 14140. Donations can also be made to St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, 308 Fillmore Ave., Buffalo, NY 14206.
The family will be present on Wednesday, August 9th from 4 pm to 8 pm at the Pietszak Funeral Home located at 2400 William Street (near Harlem), where a Panachyda service will take place at 7 pm. Funeral services will begin Thursday at 9:15 am at the funeral home, followed by a Funeral Liturgy at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church at 10 am. After the Liturgy, burial will take place at St. Matthews Cemetery in West Seneca, NY.
