The Ukrainian Institute of America mourns the loss of a journalist and its long time friend, Helen Perozak Smindak (1928 – 2020).

Helen Perozak Smindak, a journalist well-known to the Ukrainian community, passed away on Saturday, May 16, in New York City from complications of COVID-19. She was 91.

Ms. Smindak was a longtime columnist and feature writer for The Ukrainian Weekly. In 1957-1958, she was an editor of the newspaper, but her byline appeared on The Weekly’s pages for decades.

The funeral was held on May 22 at St. John’s Cemetery of Stratford, Conn. Given the coronavirus environment, there was a graveside service led by a priest from St. Mary’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Bridgeport, Conn. Burial will be in the family plot at St. John’s Cemetery, where Joseph Smindak Sr. had been laid to rest in 1993.

Read more in The Ukrainian Weekly.

Helen Smindak, a journalist well-known to the Ukrainian community, passed away on Saturday, May 16, in New York City