Yvonne BONDARCHUK

Yvonne Bondarchuk (nee Martin) died peacefully on January 25, 2017 in Parksville, BC at the age of 84. Yvonne was born in London, England in 1932, where she and her younger sister Althea (born in 1936) grew up during the war years with her mother Queenie Martin (nee Kuell) and father David Martin. Yvonne recalled that she was taught how to don a gas mask at age seven, and had vivid early memories of singing songs like “This Old Man/Knick Knack Paddywhack” in a bomb shelter at her school in Ealing (Selbourne Day School). She lived around the corner from her Uncle Rolly (Roderick) and Aunt Dolly (Dorothy) and was very close to her grandparents, William and Alice Kuell (nee Webb). From 1943-46, she attended the Notting Hill and Ealing School for girls. One of her fondest memories of her time in England was attending an impromptu V-E Day celebration in which an upright piano was pulled into the street and throngs of people proceeded to sing and cheer. She left for Canada in 1946 with her sister and mother, flew via Ireland and Newfoundland to New York, then traveled to Toronto to reunite with her step-father, Arthur Wright.

 Yvonne continued her high school studies at East York Collegiate and graduated grade 13 from Malvern Collegiate in 1948 before attending the University of Toronto where she studied English Language and Literature, French, Philosophy, Anthropology and History. She treasured her year at the University of Toronto but was unable to continue for financial reasons. She worked at her parents’ lunch counter in Singhampton, Ontario during summers and the rest of the year taught in one-room schoolhouses in rural Ontario. In the summer of 1952, Yvonne travelled by chartered bus with a large group of young women across Canada and the Western United States. Her love of travel was life-long, and she delighted in learning about other cultures and visiting far-flung places.

 Yvonne married Walter Bondarchuk in 1955 and, after briefly living in BC, settled in Ontario to raise five children. She worked as a secretary and substitute teacher, and eventually became a legal editor at Carswell Methuen Publishing Company in Scarborough, ON. She was a fervent and long-time supporter of the NDP, and once ran for office in York-Scarborough. Yvonne enjoyed many years in Ontario hiking on the Bruce Trail, spending holidays with her sister Althea and brother-in-law Ron Gentle, pampering her cats (including Sylvester, Fred, Igor, Whiskey and Barfy) and spending time with her children, grandchildren and extended family.

 Both in Toronto and in Victoria, BC after 1990, Yvonne was a long-time congregant of the Unitarian Church, which is where she met her partner of many years, Don Thiers. She enjoyed her involvement with the choir and musical groups The Jammers and The Elastic Band. Yvonne played piano and banjo and loved music, pets, hiking, travel, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.

 Fittingly, Yvonne died on Robert Burns Day, an event she used to celebrate annually with vigor. She is loved and missed by her children and their spouses/partners: Arlene and Mike King of White Rock, BC; Brent Bondarchuk of Errington, BC; Barry Bondarchuk and Shelley Lowes of Richmond Hill, ON; Stuart and Shannon Bondarchuk of Lafontaine, ON; and Karen Bondarchuk and Art Winslow of Kalamazoo, MI. She also is loved and missed by her sister Althea and brother-in-law Ron Gentle of Toronto; by her ten grandchildren: Senan; Kandas; Chantell; Kyle; Colin; Elaina; Brad; Ari; Hayley and Sasha; by her three great-grandchildren: Gavin; Liam; Brody; and, by the family of Don Thiers.  She also will be missed by many nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends. 

 There will be two memorials for Yvonne, one in Victoria, BC and one in Toronto, ON. Specific times will be forthcoming. Please save the following dates:

 Saturday March 4, 2017 - First Unitarian Church of Victoria, 5575 West Saanich Road, Victoria BC V9E 2G1

 Saturday May 20, 2017 -  18 Wynford Drive, Units 102 and 103, Toronto ON M3C 2S3.