Roman Korbutiak

ROMAN IWAN KORBUTIAK

 February 12, 1958 – June 27, 2021

It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Roman Iwan Korbutiak with his wife Irka by his side on June 27th, 2021 at St. Boniface Hospital. Following a courageous battle with cancer, Roman has now drawn deeper into the heart of God.

Left to cherish his memory are his parents Peter and Anne Korbutiak, his wife of 25 years Irka Semaniuk,  sons Alexander Korbutiak (Katie), Andrijko Semaniuk (Ulyana), sister Lydia Kandia (Luke), niece Riane Kandia, nephew Orion Kandia, uncle Stefan Korbutiak (Marta), cousins Bohdan Maslo (Linda), Marianna Herchek (Taras), Dr. Nestor Maslo (Myrosia), Dr. Lesia Boychuk (Yaroslav), Chrystia Semaniuk (Roman), Oresta Korbutiak (Christopher), Laryssa Korbutiak (Brian), mother-in-law Luba Semaniuk, sister-in-law Anna Kulbaba (Garry), niece Katya Kulbaba (Grant), nephew Brian Kulbaba (Kim, grandnephew Max), “svaty” Roman and Irka Beley, as well as his many relatives in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Regina, Ukraine, his Godchildren and of course an abundance of dear friends that Roman always considered family.

Roman was born on a winter day, February 12, 1958, in Winnipeg, Manitoba to Peter and Anne who instilled in him a love of Ukrainian culture, religion, and traditions. He grew up active in Winnipeg's Ukrainian community and continued to be involved with his Ukrainian culture throughout the rest of his life. He held many roles within Winnipeg’s Plast Ukrainian Youth Association where he learned and retained many survival skills which would serve him well in his personal and professional life. His knot-tying and fire-starting skills will forever be remembered. SKOB!

With his wife Irka being a member of the Ukrainian Youth Association SUM, Roman soon became an honorary member, always willing and eager to help out whenever Irka put him to work. Hartujs’!

Roman was an active member of the Catholic Foundation of Manitoba, most currently serving as Vice President.

He will also be remembered as the longstanding Master of Ceremonies with his right-hand man John Daughney at the Holy Family Ladies Auxiliary fundraising event run annually by Sister Darleane Pelechaty. The audience would always anxiously await Roman’s arrival as he was either dressed as a nun in training (complete with silver slippers), Maid Marian (the resemblance was striking), King Neptune (replete with trident), or a Ukrainian babusia (his personal favorite). His lively sense of humor brought such joy and laughter to all.

A man of faith, Roman was active in Sts Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic parish starting out as an altar server in the ’60s, followed as a young member singing in the Tyrsa choir in the ’70s and later on moving to the parish council in the ’90s and the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood in the new millennium. He was proud of his Ukrainian culture and deeply valued his Ukrainian Catholic faith - values with which he raised his sons.

Roman was most proud of his sons, Alexander and Andrijko, always being there for them and their many endeavors. He consistently went above and beyond for the two of them: staying up late helping with school projects, taking them to late-night movies way past their bedtimes, and countless all-hours airport pickups and drop-offs. He encouraged his sons to always take the high road and to never back away from a challenge – and when they encountered a challenge, their Tato was there to guide them through it with wisdom and advice. In addition to instilling in his sons important family and cultural values, he also passed along other important skills, such as negotiating and barbecuing. He was especially ecstatic when Alexander and Andrijko brought Katie and Ulyana into the family; as he would say – he finally had daughters. 

Roman had a strong passion for being outdoors. From his volunteer work with both Plast and SUM’s children’s camps, he walked mountain passes in the Rockies with his brother-in-law Luke, traveled the far reaches of Ukraine with his dearest cousin Bohdan and the rest of his family, and loved exploring the island of Oahu during his annual trips to Hawaii with Irka. Roman and Irka had countless travel adventures together – road trips to Radium Hot Springs, vacations in Phoenix, weekend trips to New York, Vancouver, and Montreal – his passion for exploring always led to finding something new. He was also able – somehow – to coax Irka to hop in the car and explore the areas surrounding their cottage every chance he had, even helping her to pick blueberries and mushrooms.

But if there was one thing that pulled on Roman’s heartstrings every summer, it was looking after that cottage that Tato and Mama Semaniuk built. His latest summers were spent there working on various projects, but he was happy to stop whatever he was doing and chat with any of his dear friends and neighbors from Johnny’s Drive who would stop by, or leave his own project to help his friends with theirs. Nothing made him happier than puttering around that bit of property following in the footsteps of his father-in-law.

Roman’s professional journey began as a hide buyer for Dominion Tanners. This part of his career gave him many opportunities to travel throughout the Midwest USA; the stories from those travels were legendary. Then as luck would have it, he had the amazing fortune to land the job of his dreams as a professional buyer. He spent the last 21 years of his life honing his professional buying skills with the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries team. Much to the chagrin of most wholesalers and retailers the world over, Roman could never turn off the haggling skills, which not only benefited the family bank account, but led to his eventual promotion to Procurement Supervisor, a fine achievement that his whole family was immensely proud of.

Roman had countless positive traits that made him deeply loved and respected by those who knew him. He was humble, kind, patient, calm, and most importantly loving, so much so that anyone that met him wanted to give him a great big hug - which he was more than happy to return. He was intelligent, and generous in time and in spirit. Roman never hesitated to help or support anyone who asked a favor of him, whether it be big or small.

Roman gave unconditional love to his family and friends, rocked them with laughter, and held them closely when they were sad. His strong values, morals, and integrity shone whenever he was present, for he believed in the goodness of people and their humanity. We will continue to be blessed by him as he looks down from heaven upon us with his everlasting love.

A prayer service will take place at Korban Funeral Chapel on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, at 6:00 pm and will be live-streamed via Facebook live stream on the Korban Funeral Chapel website: www.facebook.com/korbanchapel. Due to Covid 19 restrictions, the viewing will be limited to groups of 10 on a rotational basis. Anyone attending is asked to remain in their vehicles until invited to enter.

Due to Covid 19 restrictions, a private funeral service for Roman will take place at Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Cathedral on Wednesday, June 30th, 2021 at 10:00 am with Rev. Ihor Shved officiating, and will be live-streamed on the church’s website: www.stvo.ca/live.

Pallbearers will be: John Daughney, Volodymyr Dlugosh, Marian Kandia, Garry Kulbaba, Andrij Radawetz, and Roman Semaniuk.

The family wishes to thank the Doctors, Nurses, and staff at the St. Boniface Hospital Palliative Care unit for their amazing compassion and care.

In lieu of flowers, Roman has requested donations to be made to the following organizations: Plast Ukrainian Youth Association of Winnipeg (623 Flora Ave, Winnipeg, MB R2W 2S4); Ukrainian Youth Association, Winnipeg Branch (c/o 51 Summerview Lane, Winnipeg, MB, R2V 3W8); or CancerCare Manitoba.

VICHNAYA PAM’YAT!

SLEEP PEACEFULLY TATO