Dr. Alexander Gudziak

Dr. Alexander Gudziak, 80, of Syracuse, New York, passed away peacefully at Crouse Hospital in Syracuse on Saturday, April 22, 2006 after a long illness. He was born on Tuesday, January 19, 1926 in Pomoriany, Ukraine. He completed a degree in dental surgery at the Ludwig Maximillion University in Munich and a DDS degree at New York University. After serving as captain in the US Army in Germany, Dr. Gudziak settled in Syracuse where he had a successful dental practice for 40 years. He was an active member of the Greater Syracuse Dental Society and other professional organizations. Actively involved in the US Ukrainian-American community, Dr. Gudziak served as the head of the Syracuse Branch of the Ukrainian Congress Committee and Chairman of the Ukrainian Federal Credit Union in Syracuse. He was a communicant of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Syracuse. Dr. Gudziak was an avid skier, swimmer, and golfer and a generous contributor to academic and community organizations. In March 2005 Pope John Paul II decorated Dr. Gudziak with the medal "Pro Ecclesia et Pontefice". Surviving are his wife of 55 years, Jaroslawa; sons Fr. Borys Gudziak (Lviv, Ukraine) and Dr. Marko Gudziak, his wife Roma, and grandchildren Kateryna, Gregory and Zachary of Michigan. Services will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, 2006 at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, 207 Tompkins St., Syracuse. Friends may call Monday, April 24, 2006 from 4 to 7 p.m. with Panakhyda services at 6:30 p.m. and Tuesday, April 25, 2006 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Buranich Funeral Home, 5431 W. Genesee St., Camillus. Burial will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 26, 2006 at St. Andrew's Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery in South Bound Brook, New Jersey. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation, 2247 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60622 or to www.ucef.org.