It is with immense sorrow that we announce the passing of Anna Kurylo on August 14 at age 39 after a lengthy battle with melanoma. Anna was a beloved wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and godmother. She will be lovingly remembered by her husband, Viktor; children Gregory and Sofia; parents Ela and Wlodko; brother Igor (Motria); nieces and nephew Kalyna, Roksolana, and Roman; and many cousins, extended family members, and friends.

Anna was born in Krakow, Poland on November 1, 1985 and moved to Mississauga, Canada with her parents and brother in 1992. Her parents took advantage of the opportunity to have their children grow up as part of the Ukrainian community, sending both Anna and her brother to St. Sofia Byzantine Rite Elementary School and signing them up for Ukrainian dancing, first at the Ukrainian Academy of Dance, then Desna Ukrainian Dance school, and finally with the Ukraina School of Dance. She loved dancing and excelled at it. In addition to dancing, she loved swimming, working as a swimming instructor and lifeguard.

She completed a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo, following which she worked as a park ranger at Neys Provincial Park on Lake Superior in Northern Ontario. She then went back to school at Seneca Polytechnic to study fire protection engineering technology, ultimately becoming a public educator with Toronto Fire Services.

When Anna first met Viktor Kurylo, they spent time together as friends; not too long after, they began dating. Anna and Viktor were married at St. Joseph Ukrainian Catholic Church in Oakville, Ontario in November 2015. They were blessed with two children, their son Gregory, born in January 2018, and their daughter Sofia, born in March 2020. Anna loved spending time with her family, especially walking along the lakefront near their house and doing art projects with her children.

Anna loved travelling, with her Ukrainian dance group in Ukraine and Poland, visiting her cousins in Poland and Australia, and exploring Hawaii and the Caribbean with Viktor. She always had a creative side to her, taking photography classes in high school, and more recently exploring the artform further through digital media. She created art pieces by superimposing her own photographs one on top of another. Her art was displayed as part of exhibits in Scarborough, Canada; New York, USA; Milan, Italy; and Basel, Switzerland. She also created drawings as part of her healing journey.

Honouring Anna’s love of nature, donations can be made to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (www.natureconservancy.ca) or the Canadian Wildlife Federation (www.cwf-fcf.org), or (e-transfer to viktor.kurylo1@gmail.com) to help her children with future education costs.

The family wishes to thank Dr. Dana Wilson and the nurses and staff at Mississauga Hospital (Trillium) for their care and compassion.