Iris Sopinka for New Pathway, Toronto.
Vera Rohozynsky Storoniak was born on March 25, 1933 to Nicholas and Olga Rohozynsky in Sudbury, Ontario. As a young girl, she attended Lansdowne Public School and then Sudbury High School. Being a first generation Ukrainian Canadian, her parents sent her to Ukrainian School at the Ukrainian National Federation Hall on Frood Road. The building was a hub of social and cultural activities. Ukrainian immigrants, mostly from Galicia and Bukovina, donated their money and made many sacrifices to buy this hall from the Canadian Legion. It was here that they and their children, Vera amongst them, joined the Dnipro choir, played in the mandolin orchestra and presented plays under the direction of Pavlo Shulha, a former member of the Sich Riflemen. The Rohozynskys attended St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church on Beech Street. A more appropriate name for it would be Church Street because there are only churches on it. On weekends and holidays, they would go to their cottage on Lake McFarlane and relax.
During her teenage years, Vera had a close circle of friends called the Sudbury Girls. They had fun going out to lunch together, to dances and other social functions at the UNF Hall. Vera first met Andrew Storoniak in elementary school. Upon graduating from the Faculty of Education in Toronto, she returned to teach in Sudbury for five years and then married Andy and moved to North York. She taught French in both high school and middle school but her passion was music. She could sing many arias from various operas and delighted in hearing familiar ones when we went to the opera. When the opportunity to travel to Australia arose with the Dnipro choir from Sudbury, Vera learned all the music on her own because practices were held in Sudbury. She was also a member of the famous Toronto Mendelssohn choir and more recently joined the Society of Singers choir.
Vera raised four beautiful children – Vanessa, Liana, Alexa and Ross and looked after her mother in her old age. We first met at the old UNF Hall on College Street back in the 90's and became good friends. Together we looked after cultural programming for the Ukrainian Women’s Organization, Toronto Branch in 2001-2003. Her success in working with adolescents and teens led her to be the summer camp director at Hawkestone and I was fortunate enough to join her one summer as the cultural programmer. Vera was also a member of the University of Toronto Alumni Association and served in various roles including membership secretary.
Vera passed away on January 29 of this year at Sunnybrook Hospital surrounded by her loving family. The celebration of her life took place on March 13, 2016 at University of Toronto’s Hart House, most appropriately in the Music Room. Reverend Heather Gwynne-Timothy spoke of Vera’s dedication to family and Christian values. Her sister Sonia sang Our Father in Ukrainian and the Society of Singers choir sang four religious pieces, the last one being the all-time favourite All Things Bright and Beautiful. Vera had requested this in her testament. In fact, she had planned the whole afternoon. It flitted away, but those attending left with the most elated feeling that Vera had been with them and they could see her nodding from above in approval that her life had been remembered in the most beautiful and happy way. Vera left behind her four children, three grandchildren, Rain Storoniak, Jack and Jordan Pelham, (Vera nicknamed them The Three Wisemen), sister, Sonia Walker, nephews, Bradley and Jonathan Walker and brother-in-law Edward Storoniak. She will be sorrowfully missed by all of them as well as by all of her friends.
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