Alexander Koroluk

Herkimer - Mr. Alexander Koroluk, 89, of 335 King St passed away Saturday, June 18, 2011 at the Siegenthaler Center. Alexander was born in Mayaky, Volyn, Ukraine on March 10, 1922, the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Mikhail Koroluk, and he attended schools in Ukraine before his education was interrupted by World War II. During the war, he used his ability as a German speaker to assist the Ukrainian resistance and to save the lives of Jewish Ukrainians, including a young woman named Lucia Schneider, whom he helped adopt a Christian identity as Anna Fil, and to whom he was married on September 26, 1942 in Lviv, Ukraine. The couple later fled to Lublyn, Poland, but were arrested in 1944 and spent the final months of the war in a forced labor camp. After the war, in 1949, the Koroluks moved to the United States and settled in Herkimer. Alexander continued his education in the United States, and was then employed as an electro-mechanical designer for many years, working at corporations including GE, IBM, Eastman Kodak, Xerox, and Lockheed Martin, until his retirement in 1984. His beloved wife Anna passed away on July 23, 1993. Mr. Koroluk remained a Ukrainian patriot and rejoiced when Ukraine regained independence in 1991. He was a member of St. Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church and a supporter of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate. Alexander is survived by two sons & daughters in law, Igor & Louise Koroluk of Albany and the Rev Fr Paul & Misako Koroluk of Tokyo, Japan; two daughters, Nona Koroluk & her fiancé Geralberto Roliz of Santa Rosa, CA and Lydia Koroluk of Forestville, CA; one sister, Zhenya Petrova of Ukraine; his grandchildren, Michael & his wife, Samantha Koroluk of Washington, DC and Gabriel & his wife, Amy Koroluk of Houston, TX; three great grandsons, Noah, Nathan and Jacob and several nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by his sister, Nona and his brothers, Mykola and Pavlo. His funeral will be held Friday morning at 9:30 from the Petykiewicz, Iocovozzi, & Burns Funeral Home, 329 S. Washington St. Herkimer and at 10:00 in St. Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church where a Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated by the Very Rev Fr Ivan Semko and the Rev Fr Paul Koroluk. Interment will be in St. Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery. Calling hours will be Thursday from 4-8 at the Petykiewicz, Iocovozzi, & Burns Funeral Home. Parastas will be held Thursday evening at 6:30 at the funeral home with Father Semko and Father Koroluk officiating. Expressions of sympathy may be placed on Alexander's online memorial page by going to www.iocovozzifuneralhomes.com