Woven Branches

Wasyl Kostaszczuk, a.k.a. William Kostash, son of Fedor Kostaszczuk and Anna Zwarych, was born in January 1906 at Vegreville, Alberta.

Bill started his education at Kolomea school likely around seven or eight years old. He would have then moved on to higher grades in Vegreville, likely staying at the two-room shack, or bursa, built by his father.

Bill moved on to Victoria High School in Edmonton and then on to the Calgary Normal School.¹

Bill started his teaching career in 1924 at a one-room school in Hamburg, Alberta.² He also taught at two-room schools in Ruthenia¹, Kolomea², and Wattsford.²

Bill returned to school at the University of Alberta, Edmonton and earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1931. Bill aspired to a career as a chartered accountant, but his carrer in that field was cut short because of the Depression. He soon returned to teaching.¹

Bill taught at a new school in Hairy Hill, Alberta and eventually became principal of that school. While he was there a new teacher, Mary Maksymuk, arrived. Bill was quite taken and began courting her.²

Bill and Mary were married on 12 July 1939 at St. John's Greek Orthodox Church, Edmonton, Alberta.¹

In 1940 Bill and Mary moved to Edmonton where Bill worked for the Correspondence School Branch of the Department of Education.¹

Bill earned his Bachelors of Education degree from the University of Alberta in 1941.²
A few years later Bill returned to school and earned his Masters of Education in 1948 at the University of Alberta. He then became the Assistant General Secretary of the Alberta Teachers' Association.²

Bill returned to teaching in 1952 at Victoria Composite High School, Edmonton.¹

Bill ended his teaching career in 1971 while teaching at McNally Composite High School, Edmonton.¹

Bill served for six years on the University of Alberta Senate. In 1976 Bill received the Alberta Achievement Award for outstanding service.¹

Bill was a long time member of the Ukrainian Pioneers' Association of Alberta. He translated and edited many pioneer materials, including the memoirs of Peter Svarich, which, unfortunately Bill did not live to see published. The memoirs were finally published by the Ukrainian Pioneers' Association of Alberta and the Huculak Chair of Ukrainian Culture and Ethnography in 1999.³

Bill died in 1994 at Vegreville, Alberta.¹