Collection 0273 - Oleh and Bozhena Iwanusiw collection

Oleh Wolodymyr Iwanusiw was born on July 28, 1935, in Watsewychi (today - Zaluzhany) in Halychyna, Western Ukraine. Before coming to Canada, Oleh lived in Ukraine, Poland, Austria, and Germany.
He came to Canada with his parents and sisters in June 1948 and lived in Picture Butte, Lethbridge, Edmonton, and Toronto. In 1957 he completed his education by obtaining a BSc degree in electrical engineering from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, and afterwards moved to Toronto, where he secured a position as an instrumentation engineer at the Ontario Hydro W.P. Dobson Research Laboratory. He continued working at the research laboratory until December 1978.
In 1972, Oleh formed a partnership under the name of Olman Instruments that designed and produced test equipment for the power industry. In January 1979, Oleh joined Olman Instruments as the president.
In June 1994, AVO International closed the manufacturing facility in Toronto. Thus Oleh, together with 65 other employees lost their jobs.
In 1995, Oleh started a consulting business that took him primarily to India and Ukraine but also involved other countries such as Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Malaysia, Egypt, New Zealand, and the USA. Oleh was the president of the Foundation of the Encyclopedia of Ukraine. The foundation collected funds from the public and used these funds to fund research and publication of works dealing with Ukrainian culture, history, and education.

Bozhena Wertyporoch-lwanusiw was born on April 4, 1939, in Warszawa, Poland.
Before coming to Canada in the fall of 1948, Bozhena lived in Ukraine, Poland, Austria, and Germany. Bozhena has been an active member of the Ukrainian Youth Association “PLAST” (Scouts) and continues to be a member in various leadership positions. She is the president of the Ukrainian Canadian Social Services (UCSS) and the head of the “Buy a Bowl of Soup” Committee. In this role, she has been actively involved with overseeing and operating soup kitchens and food banks for the needy in Ukraine. A long-time and active member of the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League of Canada (UCWLC). In addition to receiving the Queen Diamond Jubilee, Ms. Iwanusiw was awarded the prestigious St. Volodymyr Medal by the Ukrainian World Congress in 2008 for her continued contribution and dedication to the development of the Ukrainian community throughout the years.
Bozhena and Oleh have traveled the world, going to Soviet Ukraine. Their travels to Europe in the 1980s have resulted in a publication entitled CHURCH in RUINS (1987, ISBN 0-9691657-3-0, 360 pages, 500 colour prints, English and Ukrainian text).

Sources: http://iwanusiw.com/short-biography.htm