Natalie Ostryzniuk

Looking Back and Remembering Natalie Ostryzniuk

Mary Shewchuk immigrated with her family from Ukraine in 1897. They were one of the earliest families to settle in the first Ukrainian settlement in Manitoba, Canada. Although they had little material wealth and had to overcome many hardships, my aunt had a sense of adventure. She left the homestead in her late teens, went to the city of Winnipeg to obtain employment on her own initiative. After her marriage and a move to the United States and her divorce soon after, she carried on. She continued living in the US working as a waitress, visited her family every few years, sent pretty dresses to her sisters back home and helped two of her sisters get medical help. Mary was an ordinary young woman and had a genuine concern for the well beimg of her siblings. In her 30s she finds her true love, Roy Grassham, and marries him. Moving to various parts in the US, she follows him in his dream for a better life. Although comfort and any wealth eluded them, she stuck with him. Eventually, after settling in Oregon, the Grasshams both working led a comfort life with their son.