Olena Korytnyk
Ukraine
Born of Ukrainian parents, Olena Korytnyk endured upheaval and uncertainty throughout most of her childhood as a result of ongoing oppression of Ukrainian people by the Soviet government and the ravages of World War II. To read more of Olena's childhood and the struggles of her parents as political exiles, see the first part of her life story under Stories of War.
While living in Australia during the late 1940s, Olena continued her education at a trade school, then applied to university high school. Her older sister Nina went to work in Melbourne and her father's contract with the labor camp was finished, so they had more freedom to work and live as they pleased. Her father worked on the railroads and various contracting jobs. Her sister met and married a Slovakian immigrant and the family all lived together for a while.
During the time she attended college in Melbourne, Olena met Wsevolod (Walter) Korytnyk, a friend of one of her friends, visiting from his current home in Adelaide. After he went home, they kept a correspondence for two years with occasional visits-- they were able to meet in person only four times. He was a fellow Ukranian refugee who had taken on a two-year labor contract in Australia like her father had done, but he had broken that contract in order to pursue a career as a chemist. His family was still in Germany; they had been relocated during the war as Olena's family had been. Though he could have been deported for breaking his contract, he was allowed to stay in Australia and eventually earned his Ph.D. in chemistry. However, this degree only qualified him to teach in Australia, and his desire was to do research. So Walter asked Olena, if he would go to the United States, would she go with him?
Olena was still two years from earning her own degree and had only spent four days with him, other than their longtime correspondence. But nevertheless, she agreed to marry him and leave for a new life the United States.
Olena on the boat to America, 1957
Olena talks about why she married her husband, and what's important in life. Click the arrow at right for a transcription.
Olena: So we got married after four times seeing each other. But we corresponded for, for two years. And I just somehow I felt he was the right person for me. I don't know. I mean, it worked out well. Yeah, it was. You know, marriages are not easy.
Maria: So what do you think it was? What do you remember about him being special or making your decision?
Olena: Well, he was just a nice person. A warm person. See I didn't need much. You know, I didn't need much. I wasn't expecting anything. But he was very nice, warm, understanding, intelligent, and a good person. See, my my parents, they constantly--mostly my, in my upbringing-- what was important was honesty, integrity. That was what my parents-- you have to be yourself. You have to be sort of, kind to people.
Walter was offered a job as a professor at Purdue University in Indiana, then briefly worked in Los Angeles, CA. He received an offer to do research at the Buffalo Cancer Institute in New York in 1958 where they stayed for the next 36 years. Eventually Olena brought both her father and sister to the United States.
Olena had three children who grew up attending Ukrainian school on Saturdays. They all pursued higher education and eventually their various careers took them to the Washington, D.C. area.
Olena and her family in Buffalo, New York, c. 1962
Her sister Nina persuaded Olena to finish her own education-- to complete the degree she had left behind all those years before in Australia. At age 48, Olena went back to school and received her master's degree, studying dietary science. The same year, her father died of lung cancer. The year after that, her husband Walter also died of cancer at age 57. After working as a dietician for several years in the Buffalo area, Olena moved to Montgomery County to be nearer to her children and grandchildren.
Olena reflects on the current-day threat to Ukraine, a continuation of centuries of fighting between Russia and Ukraine, and a favorite saying of her father's. Click for transcription.
Olena: So that’s the story. I don't know. It's just– what's going on here, I don't know how it will end. But Ukraine was fighting for centuries. In 800, Ukraine was center, because of Kyivan Rus, Kyivan Rus--It's not Russia (Rossia. Rossia.) That's Russia. Kyivan Rus was, is the beginnings of Ukraine and the Cossacks and the Crimea and that’s all Ukrainian background. But after 1200, I think it was 1200. It was, I think, Peter the Great when he built Saint Petersburg, and all that… that's that's how it was. But they've been fighting all the time. All the time. But I don't know. Putin, made it... It's nice to hear that. So much support for Ukraine. It's just hard to believe. It's just very nice to hear because we see all our weaknesses and all, you know, things that could have been different. But it's just so nice to see all that support. So let's hope. As my father used to say in Ukrainian: "let's hope that our calf will eat the wolf."
Maria: Can you say that in Ukrainian?
Olena: Yeah. Дай Боже щоб наша телятко тя вовка з'їло (Dai Bozhe shchob nasha telyatko tya vovka z'yilo) [May God allow our calf to eat the wolf]. Vovk: wolf. Z'yilo: eat up. Telyatko...Young, uh... What did I say? Young calf.