Damian Paul Fedoryka (1941 -2022)

Damian Paul Fedoryka, aged 81, passed from this life in his home in Front Royal, Virginia, on July 26, 2022. His repose in the Lord followed a time of preparation and ever-deepening communion with God, his family, and other loved ones.

Forced from his beloved native Ukraine at the end of the Second World War, he married another Ukrainian war émigré, Irene Christine Kondra, in New York in 1966. He and Irene were blessed with ten children, and to the end of his days, he counted her and them as the signal blessings in his life.

An accomplished philosopher and academic devoted especially to a realist philosophy centered on the dignity of the human person, he combined teaching and writing with extensive administrative work, including leading Christendom College to full accreditation under his presidency. After the fall of communism in Ukraine, Fedoryka returned to his native land to assist in the formation of the Catholic University of Lviv in the 1990s.

A student of Dietrich von Hildebrand as well as of the thought of Karol Wojtyla (St. John Paul II, to whom he became a friend), Fedoryka made the pursuit of wisdom more than a profession; it was his way of life. Rooted in faith and formed by the great tradition of philosophy, his approach to reality combined a child-like wonder with the sophistication that comes from long years of study and reflection.

As a mentor, he was a source of inspiration and sage insight to countless people right up to the end of his life. In his last days, he added an example of patience, courage, and peace in the face of death.

He was predeceased by his parents Osyp and Stephania (nee Tysovych) Fedoryka, his wife Irene (nee Kondra), and his younger brothers Roman and Leo. He is survived by his sister Marta; his ten children, and their spouses (whom he treated as his own): Kateryna Cuddeback (Kevin), Teresa Fedoryka, Maria Schoeman (Roy), Sofia Cuddeback (John), Damian Bodhan Fedoryka (Katherine), Alexander Fedoryka (Catherine), Halyna Kay (Sean), Danylo Fedoryka (Therese), Larissa Fedoryka, and Melanie Schmiedicke (Jacob); thirty-five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and thousands of former students.

Funeral Wednesday, August 3, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Front Royal, Virginia. Rosary at 1:15 pm, Divine Liturgy at 2:00 pm.
Burial and reception to follow.