Anna Zabolotna Kuryliw and Wasyl (Bill) Kuryliw were Ukrainian immigrants who settled in Sudbury, Ontario and became actively involved in Sudbury's Ukrainian community as well as in the community at large.
Wasyl Kuryliw was born in the village of Potochyshche, Ukraine, in 1910. He emigrated to Canada in 1928, working first in Saskatchewan as a contract farm labourer and later finding work in various places during the Depression, including Fort William. After joining Inco, he initially worked as a miner and then trained as a welder, remaining with the company until his retirement in 1975.
Anna Zabolotna was also born in Potochysche, in 1910. After receiving her elementary education in the village, she attended high school in Horodenka and completed several courses at the University in Lviv. Wasyl Kuryliw sponsored Anna's voyage to Canada in 1936 after several years of courtship by correspondence, and the couple was married immediately following her arrival. They lived first in Kirkland Lake, moving to Sudbury in 1938. Anna and Wasyl had three children: Ihor, Sonia and Oksana.
Known for his commitment to the Ukrainian community, Wasyl Kuryliw was a founder of the Ukrainian National Federation's Sudbury branch in 1930. Throughout his life, he remained a dedicated volunteer in the UNF - serving in various capacities, assisting in renovations and fundraising, and providing financial support. He also volunteered for "The New Pathway", a Ukrainian Canadian newspaper.
In the wider community, he encouraged many businesses to join the local Chamber of Commerce, volunteered at hospitals and supported other causes. He enjoyed teaching and playing the mandolin and other instruments. Kuryliw also played cello in the Sudbury Symphony and was an avid outdoorsman.
Anna Zabolotna Kuryliw was actively involved in the Ukrainian Women's Organization of Canada, serving as branch president, secretary and cultural co-ordinator. She also headed the National Executive's Organizational Committee.
In later years, they established the Wasyl and Anna Kuryliw Family Foundation at the University of Alberta. The purpose of the foundation is to fund scholarships for those studying Ukrainian ethnography.
The couple moved to Toronto in 1995; Anna Kuryliw died in 2001 and Wasyl Kuryliw in 2004.
Composer and pianist Larysa Kuzmenko (b. 1956, Mississauga, Canada) studied piano and composition at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and composition at the University of Toronto. She began performing as a pianist in 1972, while still in high school. She has taught piano, music theory, harmony and music history through the Royal Conservatory of Music since 1981 and at the University of Toronto since 1989. Kuzmenko began composing in the late 1970s, and her works include three piano concertos, a cello concerto, a cello sonata, chamber music for string quartet, winds, brass, percussion and accordion, works for solo piano and organ, song cycles and choral works. She has been a frequent collaborator of the Vesnivka Choir of Toronto and her works on Ukrainian themes include In Memoriam: To the Victims of Chornobyl for solo piano, “A Journey to a New Life” for string quartet, the oratorio The Golden Harvest and “Holy God” for a cappella choir. She is married to composer Gary Kulesha.