Without a doubt, Roman loved and cherished his children and family. His first born, Heather, was his only girl by his first wife Sally. She was his little girl, and at a very young age, a daddy’s girl.
Dad was obsessive with taking photos. He took numerous candid photos with his Nikon camera (that went to, and came back from, Vietnam). He recorded my sounds from the playpen, took care of me during the day as mom worked and he went to PA school at night. We played all sorts of board games, shared a love of history and family stories, especially our Ukrainian heritage; we were the Christmas tree decorators, the 70’s music group lovers, the dog lovers (Slava, his fish tank, then later the dogs I cared for-April, Kira and Sophie), the Snoopy lovers (with child -like playfulness) and we both had nature in our soul. Together we planted at his parents’ grave. Dad had a green thumb and loved to fix his plants just so. My personal highlight were the summers on Cape Cod. Magical sunsets. Walking on the beach. Shell collecting. We had water gun fights, nights in P-Town, and Dad would jump out of the car with his childhood friend Joe from Brooklyn to catch those blue fish.
To his boys, Roman Jr. and Michael, from his second marriage to Beatrice, he was a hands-on father; a soccer dad at practice and games, one of the kids playing and splashing at Sprain Brook Pool, and the lead hiker who took them on long walks through Rockefeller State Park. Many summers were along the Delaware River, swimming, and canoeing.
Some of our best times were grilling on the BBQ, shooting off fireworks or watching sunsets from the terrace. As we got older, family trips were great especially our first cruise to the Caribbean. Dad was always there for us no matter what we needed. He was always a person we leaned on in our most lost times.
His wife Beatrice was with him almost every day while he was in the hospital; Roman was truly the love of my life. I will miss him with all my heart. I have so many wonderful memories of our life together. It is difficult to share them now, but later I will be able to share them with others.
Roman was a sentimentalist about his family, starting with his beloved mother, Daria. Roman had the heart of his mother and the intelligence and dance moves of his father, whom he was named after.
His sister and brother made up ‘The Brooklyn 3’; the little Ukrainian refugees off the boat in 1949, arriving at Ellis Island. Roman was a month shy of 2 years old and already he was lost! He wondered off on the docks later to be found sitting with cops, eating ice cream.
At home, his mom, dad, older sister Orysia (known as Zena) and older brother Bohdan spoke Ukrainian. On Sundays they walked their 8 blocks to church and after mass and stopped at the Italian bakery for breakfast. In the summer, all three were a part of the Ukrainian Scout Camps, where Ukrainian arts took center stage. The camp Parishioner remembers Roman as the one ‘always walking to his own music.’ Roman was a free spirit, who always did his own thing. His kids and wife might call that being stubborn. He would have said, ‘I was being me.’
His youthful summers were about swimming and canoeing in Lake George. In Brooklyn, he was the street kid, playing stick ball, and setting off firecrackers with his brother, his cousin George, and his loyal neighborhood buddies. The police knew him well too! He and his brother used the fire escape instead of the stairs. And when he got into trouble, his big brother was there protecting him. Their fire escape was an escape. On hot Brooklyn nights, Roman and his siblings slept on wet sheets, hoping to catch a breeze.
Roman was proud of his service in Vietnam. He was a medic, flying on helicopters, and this later lead him to his career as a Physician Assistant, a newer profession in the 1970’s. He was still a German citizen when he joined the Air Force, becoming a naturalized citizen of the US after his honorable discharge.
You could not separate Roman from water, fishing, the beach, or nature. He had many fishing partners, and later in life, Roman’s most enthusiastic fishing buddy Greg married into the family. The two of them talked fish, fished fish, fried fish, and ate fish. Then talked about fishing all over again.
He always made it a point to spend time with his nephew Jim and niece/goddaughter Daria when they visited from Florida. A City Island escape to grab the best fresh crab meat was the minimum he could do with Jim. Growing up Daria remembers Uncle Roman constantly playing Fleetwood Mac in the car; on 8 track, then cassette, then CD, so much so, that Daria is devoted to Fleetwood in digital musicland! With all of his nieces and nephews, he had a special bond, a great stories, and had a many a laugh.
So many words and thoughts come to mind when anyone thinks of dad - lover of nature and beauty; fisherman, hunter (but never killed a baby deer), his dear SLAVA -how he loved that dog!, photographer (yup-he took a hundred pictures of one object from every angle possible), the bread and butter man, stubborn, a free spirit, a good heart, amazing Ukrainian folk dancer (he danced at weddings and he may have stolen the show), a joker, a fish in water, a son, a brother, an uncle, a loyal friend, a husband, and a loving father. The feelings and descriptions are endless.
Roman leaves to cherish his loving memories: his wife, Beatrice: his daughter, Heather: his two sons, Roman Jr and Michael: his sister, Orysia of St. Petersburg, FL (Nephew Jim & Niece Daria): his brother, Bohdan and sister-in-law Dagmar of Yonkers, NY (Niece Tania, Nephews Stephen & Bo Jr.): three brother-in-laws: Milton of Flushing, NY; William of Charlotte, NC; and Alfred of Brooklyn, NY: his sister-in-law, Barbara of Charlotte, NC; a host of nephews and nieces: multiple grand - nieces and grand - nephews: and countless relatives and friends.
Visiting hours will be at Whalen & Ball Funeral Home on Monday 4-8pm. A funeral service will be held in the funeral home on Tuesday May 4th at 10am. Interment will follow at Mt. Hope Cemetery.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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