Theresa Martha Caryk

Theresa Martha Caryk (Age 92), of Silver Spring, Maryland, passed away on September 3, 2025, due to complications of a hemorrhagic stroke. Theresa was born on October 11, 1932 in Pukiw, Ukraine, the youngest of seven children born to Father Wasyl Solowij and Maria Strilbycka Solowij. After WWII, she immigrated the United States in 1950 with her father, settling in Curtis Bay, Maryland, where her father was assigned as parish priest of Ss. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church. She attended the Institute of Notre Dame High School in Baltimore, and then the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry in 1956. On September 7, 1957 she was married to Theodore Caryk by her father in his parish. She raised three children while working full time and volunteering with many charities, including the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (Washington Chapter 78). Theresa was the head of the Marion Sodality at the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family for over 30 years.

Immediately following graduation, she took a position at the Gerontology branch of the National Heart Institute of the National Institutes of Health, located in Baltimore City. In 1963, the family moved to Silver Spring, Maryland, and she joined the research group of Marshall Nirenberg, PhD, at NIH in Bethesda, Maryland. It was here that the deciphering of the genetic code began. Within five years Dr. Nirenberg’s team deciphered the entire genetic code. In 1968, Dr. Nirenberg received the Nobel Prize for “breaking the genetic code”, and credits Theresa as a valuable asset to the team. Theresa spent 32 years at NIH.

Theresa kept herself very busy the last years of her life continuing to volunteer, attending church, creating beautiful jewelry & continuing her passion of sewing, not just for herself, but for others. She felt her life has been a blessing that she was able to work full time, raise three wonderful children & volunteer within the Ukrainian community.

She is survived by her children: Sophia Wolff; Nestor (Merideth) Caryk and Natalia (Joseph) Dal Porto; her grandchildren Hailey Wolff, Alexa (John) Compton and Clifford Caryk, Dominic and Gianna Dal Porto; as well her great grandson, Rory Compton. She was preceded in death by her husband Theodore, and her son-in-law Danny Wolff.

Friends and family are invited to pay their respects on Friday, September 12th at Hines Rinaldi Funeral Home in Silver Spring, MD, 11800 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20904.

Visitation will be held from 3:00-5:00 pm, with services starting at 5:00 pm.

Funeral divine liturgy will be held on Saturday, September 13th at 10:30 am at the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family at 4250 Harewood Road NE, Washington, DC 20017. The burial will take place at St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery in Dundalk, Maryland.

In lieu of flowers, donations can me made to the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, at https://unwla.org/donate