Refugee. Matriarch. Ukrainian-Canadian. Woman of faith. Born Sept. 10, 1920, in Rohatyn, Ukraine; died Feb. 14, 2023, in Toronto, of natural causes; aged 102
Millions of Ukrainians have yet again been separated from loved ones; forced into hardship and settled in foreign lands. These all too common themes today were Daria Goshulak’s reality in 1944. She responded with a life of perseverance, enduring faith and devotion to her native and adopted countries.
Daria was nine months pregnant when they fled. She gave birth to Ada, the first of their five children, in a clinic in the Carpathian Mountains. Hiding from the Soviets and the retreating German army, there was no time to rest and recover. With a day-old newborn, she found herself by a cold stream, washing a cloth in which to wrap her baby. She felt overwhelmed but was uplifted by the sight of snowdrop flowers, a traditional sign of hope and new beginnings.
While she never took a paid job, Daria spent her life working to help other refugees and immigrants to Canada, inspiring her friends to nickname her “,” loosely translated as “Mrs. Good Deeds.” She volunteered for Ukrainian-Canadian social service organizations helping the newly arrived find work, sometimes paying their school tuition and accommodating many in her home. She continued this work after Ostap died in 2004, as she stayed in the family home, rarely requiring or asking for help.