Obituary of Stefania Babiak

Stefania Babiak, 89, of Arnold Avenue, passed away peacefully at St. Mary's Hospital in Amsterdam, NY on Wednesday, June 22. Born in Borislau, Ukraine on November, 25, 1921, she was the daughter of Katarina and Stefan Kusznir. In 1944 she married the late Michael Babiak, her school mate since first grade. Both immigrated to America along with their first son Lubomyr and settled in Amsterdam in November 1949. She was an accomplished professional seamstress of over thirty years for Mohawk Sportwear and Brier Industries of Amsterdam. Her precise sewing skills were often employed to produce the designer's sample for prospective retail buyers to consider for purchase. Stefania will be long remembered as a loving wife, mother, grandmother and friend to many with whom she shared her unconditional love. She was a very generous and compassionate woman with a lovely sense of humor and story-telling skills. She often put her family and friends before herself. She demonstrated these attributes through many acts of kindness and generosity. A dedicated parishioner, and faithful servant of the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, she sang in the choir and made thousands of pyrogies for the Churches weekly sale. She was an active member of the Ukrainian American Citizen's Club, the Ukrainian National Association and the St. Nicholas Church Ladies Guild. She was a parent volunteer at St. Mary's Institiute and Bishop Scully High School. An avid baseball and soccer fan, Stefania would accompany her family to New York during the baseball season to watch the Yankees play and recently would travel to Denver to cheer for the Colorado Rapids professional soccer team. She was proud supporter of her three sons who were local student athletes, as well as her talented grandchildren. She and her husband of sixty-one years were passionate ballroom dancers. Together they took many dancing classes and rarely missed a local dance function. They enjoyed traveling to many destinations including Hawaii, Florida, California, Colorado and Canada. Stefania was an avid gardener. She grew beautiful roses and delicious tomatoes from seeds that she brought with her from Ukraine. Everyone enjoyed her special fresh tomato and rice soup. She enjoyed sharing her sweet peas with her children and in particular, her grandkids. At home she enjoyed baking pastries and breads, sewing dresses and cross-stitch embroidering. She is survived by her loving family- her devoted sons; Lubomyr and his wife Kathy Babiak, of Rego Park, NY; Orest Babiak of Amsterdam and John Babiak and his wife Dr. Maya Bunik Babiak of Denver, CO.; her grandchildren, Larissa, Marko, and Nicholas Babiak; sister-in-law; Lydia Bazar and her husband Myron of Saratoga Springs; nephews, Peter Bazar of Saratoga Springs, and Walter Bazar and wife Suzan of Lake George; Andrew Kusznir of San Ramon CA and niece Roma Kusznir of Boston; and her brother George Kusznir and wife Christina of Flushing, NY and relatives Roman and Peter Pilkiw and their families of Toronto, Canada. She was the Godmother to Oleh Rymar, Walter Bazar and Andrew Kusznir. Visitation hours are Tuesday July 5th from 5-7 pm at the Betz, Rossi & Bellinger Family Funeral Home, 171 Guy Park Avenue with the Panachyda at 6:00 pm. The Divine Liturgy will be held at 10:00 am at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, 24 Pulaski Street, Amsterdam, on Wednesday, July 6th, with the Fr. Marian Kostyk as celebrant. Interment will take place in St. Nicholas' Cemetery. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in the memory of Stefania Babiak, to the Denver Botanical Gardens, 1007 York St, Denver, CO 80206.