In Celebration of

Eugenia "Jean" Perebzak

October 23, 1945 -  September 4, 2020

Peacefully in her sleep on Friday September 4, 2020 at the age of 74. Loving wife of 55 years to John. Beloved mother of Michael (Roma Duplak), Anne (Mark Secord), and Mary (Jonathan Bradshaw). Cherished grandmother of Melania and Mykhasyk Perebzak, and Zackary and Joshua Secord. Predeceased by her brother Taras Pavlyshyn. Jean will be dearly missed by her brother Peter Pawlyszyn (Rose), her nephews Michael Pawlyszyn, Christopher Pawlyszyn, and Ruslan Pavlyshyn, her nieces Melissa Peters and Stephanie Pawlyszyn, and her cousins William and Michael Shotyk. A Private celebration of Jean's life will be held at Turner & Porter Peel Chapel. A celebration of Jean's life for her friends will be held at a later date.

Guestbook 

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Anne and Michael Holowka (Friend)

Entered September 7, 2020

Our sincerest condolences to your Family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Alex, Meredith, Mason & Spencer Vaccari (Family Friends)

Entered September 7, 2020

We are terribly sorry for your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.

Stephanie Vaccari (Family friends)

Entered September 7, 2020 from Toronto

We are so so sorry for your loss. When we saw the notification in the paper, our hearts broke. My parents (Ross and Silvana) also send their deepest condolences (they do not have access to the Internet). We are saddened that we cannot personally pay our respects to your family, as a result of COVID. Please let us know where Jean is put to rest.

Our thoughts and many prayers are with you and your family. We will be making a donation to Parkinson's research.

Carl Seeley (Friend)

Entered September 7, 2020 from Wasaga Beach

John, sorry to read about Jean’s passing. I think about you and Jean about the old days. I hope you are well during this difficult time.
Carl Seeley

Nick and Lida Ruller (Family friend)

Entered September 7, 2020 from Niagara-on-the-lake

Our most genuine and sincerest condolences to your entire family for your loss. We were so sad to hear of Jean’s passing.
Michael, Hania and Marijka, I will remember your Mom as a strong, intelligent and confident woman. I have many memories of her from my childhood and I will always be grateful for when she pulled me aside at my wedding to offer words of encouragement and support. I appreciated it more than she probably realized. May your loving memories help you to get through this time of grieving.

Life Stories 

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Marika Perebzak (Daughter)

Entered September 7, 2020 from Sydney Australia

Jean’s story is the quintessential rags to riches story — a story of an immigrant coming to Canada and making a life for herself and her family, and not just surviving but thriving. She had a hard life, and made lemonade from lemons, she spent her life climbing and achieving things that were above and beyond what anyone could imagine was possible.

She was kind, caring, loving and loyal and wanted only the very best for her friends and family. She loved fiercely.

Eugenia “Jean” (Evhenia) Perebzak, nee Pawlyszyn. People called her Jean or Genya. Sometimes we adoringly called her "Jean the Queen" - because that's exactly what she was.

Jean's mother Maria Shotyk was born near the village of Mostyska in Ukraine, 16 km east of the border with Poland and 64 km west of Lviv Lviv. The devastating impacts of Holodomor (Ukraine's Great Famine and Genocide of 1932-33) were seen across Ukraine, and in particular in smaller villages and farms like where Maria lived. In 1940, with the outbreak of WW2 and Ukraine's occupation by the German army, Maria and her younger brother Micheal, left Ukraine and headed toward western Germany in search of a better life. Maria's mother passed when she was only 8 years old, she now had a step-mother and newer younger sisters (Anastasia and Katarina) all needing support, food and clothing. Maria knew the best way forward was to leave their village and farm. Maria was just 21 yo, and her younger brother was 16 years old and together they would leave their family and home land forever.

Maria met Stefen Pawlyszyn, her husband, in the midst of the WW2. When the war ended they were sent to a DP (Displaced Persons) camp in Germany.
Jean was born in the municipality of Mogendorf, western Germany just one month after WW2 ended in Oct 23, 1945.

When the Second World War ended in Europe in May, 1945, more than two million Ukrainians found themselves outside their Soviet occupied homeland. Genya was, along with her parents and younger brother Ivacyk, considered a ‘displaced person’. Many refugees of WW2 did not want to return to Soviet occupied land and its communist system and so were forcibly repatriated. By 1952 Canada had welcomed over 32,000 Ukrainian refugees from across Europe.

Genya, her parents and little brother Ivacyk found refuge from war-torn Europe in coming to Canada. Their ship arrived to Nova Scotia April 19th, 1950 when she was 5 years old, and as part of Canada’s immigration & refugee policy, they spent a number of years working hard labour on a farm in Manitoba. Ivacyk unfortunately passed very young with an allergic reaction to penicillin.

After their time on the farm, and as mum would put it .... as soon as possible, they moved to the city of Toronto and soon expanded the family. Jean soon had two brothers - Taras and then Peter. With a ten+ year gap between Jean and her younger brothers she was as much mother as she was sister to her younger siblings. Taras unfortunately has passed but Peter and his family and children and grandchildren live in North Carolina in the USA.

At the age of 16, she met a handsome young man John Perebzak at the local Ukrainian dance hall, and the rest is history. They were married on August 21 1965 at the Ukrainian Catholic Church on Leeds Street in Toronto, when Jean was 18 and John 26.

Together, Jean and John have three children: Michael, Anne (Hanya), and Marika. All children are married, Micheal in New Jersey, Marika in Australia and Hanya very close to home in Burlington. Jean’s grandchildren from Micheal and Roma are Melania and Myxacyk.

Jean went to school to be a primary teacher, and loved her profession. She taught for the Peel Board of Education straight from teacher's college at 19 years old until retirement. She was a teacher for just about every grade - from grades 1 to 4, and she especially enjoyed teaching the special needs and gifted children dealing with their unique educational needs and encouraging them to strive.

When they moved from Toronto to Mississauga in the 1970s, the St Mary’s Parish at Cawthra and Burnhamthorpe was brand new. Jean and her friends who also had young children knew there was no nursery school for the children at the parish — but Jean took the problem and solved it, and banded her friends together and was instrumental in starting the sadochok at St. Mary’s that has since thrived.

Unlike others who, when they reach retirement find casual and relaxing ways to spend their time, Jean and John decided to ramp up their property business, which had to that point been a weekend and evening side project. In the last twenty years they have build an extensive business, with many buildings and employees.

As we know, Jean was unfortunately diagnosed with MSA (Muscular System Atrophy) which is a type of Parkinson's disease. It is a neurological disorder that meant while her mind was sharp as a tack, her body began to fail her, and major muscular systems began to slow and shut down. It started with simple things like no longer being able to peel a potato and grew to much larger mobility challenges. Her whole family, including her daughter Hanya, and husband John were instrumental in providing support and caregivers around her so that she could continue to live at home despite her illness. She always wanted to stay at home no matter what happened with her health, and her family takes comfort in knowing she was exactly where she wanted to be — at home with her family and husband John.

Jean and John just celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary two weeks ago on August 21.

Her last full day with us was last Thursday.

She had a regular day, and a great day. The sun was shining, she was in the pool for a little while, the family had a lovely dinner. She went to bed — just like every day. And passed peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of the morning. There was no suffering, she just decided to go. And her family takes so much peace and comfort in that.

We will always remember her for being:
- strong
- resilient
- resourceful
- strong willed
- never taking no for an answer (you might call that stubborn but she’d call that persistent) :)
- intelligent
- ambitious
- generous
- kind and caring
- loyal

She loved:
- her family
- cooking
- singing
- gardening, planting and tending to the flowers in the garden
- eating (!)
- movies — the more dramatic and romantic the better. And strangely mafia movies were also her favourite
- musical theatre, the arts, music
- her career as a teacher
- the travelling they did despite her illness to any and all places with a beach and sunshine
- her second career as an entrepreneur working next to the love of her life, husband John

What she loved most:
- being the boss. Whether that was being the boss of the kids, her husband, her employees, or her little brothers. She was CEO of everything. And despite being bossy everyone was better off with her input, help, support, guidance and two cents. She was ** usually** right. :)

She adored John, and her children. And her family was the most important thing to her.

Vichnaya Pamyat.

Photos 

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