Roman
Melnyk
(1941-2012)
It
is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Roman Peter
Melnyk on October 3, 2012, following an unexpected and brief struggle
with cancer. His end came peacefully, surrounded by family. Loving
husband and best friend of Tania for 42 years; wonderful and
supportive father of daughters Marichka (Matt) and Melanie (John);
proud and doting dziadzio
to Will and Katya. Survived by his mother Bronyslawa, brother Andrew
(Chrystyna), sister-in-law Dana Boyko (Roman), nephews and
grand-nieces.
Roman
Melnyk was a lawyer and former television executive. He held several
senior positions with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,
including Senior Legal Counsel, Director of Independent Production,
Director of TV Network Programming and Executive Director of Media
Operations. Later he served as Executive Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer of W.F. Cooke Television Programs, then as Vice
President of Business Affairs with CTV Television. Prior to pursuing
legal studies, from 1962 to 1966 Roman was posted to Stuttgart and
Cologne, Germany as a foreign service officer with the Department of
Citizenship and Immigration.
Roman
believed firmly in the need for involvement and commitment to one’s
community and was a volunteer at the Ukrainian Canadian Congress at
the national and Toronto Branch levels. He served for over a decade
on the Board of the St. Demetrius Development Corporation, including
four years as its Chair. He was a founding director of the Ukrainian
Catholic Education Foundation and served on the Boards of the
Independent Production Fund, the Canadian Race Relations Foundation,
the National Catholic Broadcasting Council, and the International
Media Centre in Kyiv, Ukraine. He was a lifelong member and supporter
of Plast Ukrainian Youth Association.
A
funeral service took place on October 9th at St. Demetrius
Ukrainian Catholic Church with interment at Park Lawn Cemetery in
Toronto.
In
lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a scholarship fund in
Journalism Studies to be established in his name at the Ukrainian
Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine
(www.ucef.org/supportus/in-canada), or to the Canadian Cancer Society
(www.cancer.ca/donate) for early cancer detection research.
Vichnaya
Yomu pamyat - May His Memory Be Eternal