Katherine Janesko-marcyniuk Obituary

Katherine Janesko-marcyniuk attended Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, IL. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Katherine Janesko-marcyniuk.

Graduation Year	Faculty
Date of Passing	Jun 23, 2008
About	A courageous and gifted teacher, her Tribine obituary: Katherine Mary Jaresko-marcyniuk: 1959 - 2008 Added spark to history class Teacher often turned to current events June 26, 2008\|By Joan Giangrasse Kates, SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE History wasn't just about the past for Katherine Mary Jaresko-Marcyniuk. Using current events such as the genocide in Bosnia and Rwanda, the longtime teacher at Willowbrook High School in Villa Park put the history she taught into real terms and showed how it could repeat itself. "She did much more than teach history," said former student Melissa Jimenez-Biles, a 2001 graduate of Willowbrook High School. "She brought to class newspaper clippings, articles from magazines and anything she could find to keep us constantly aware of what was happening in the world. She taught us about the Jewish Holocaust, but also about atrocities still occurring today." Mrs. Jaresko-Marcyniuk, 49, of Elmhurst, a teacher of history and government honors classes at Willowbrook High School for 14 years, died Monday, June 23, at Glen Oaks Medical Center in Glendale Heights after a long battle with breast cancer. The daughter of Ukrainian immigrants, Mrs. Jaresko-Marcyniuk was born in Chicago and raised in Wood Dale. After graduating from Addison Trail High School, she received a bachelor's degree from Dominican University in River Forest and a master's from National-Louis University. In 1979, Mrs. Jaresko-Marcyniuk married her husband of 29 years, George. The couple had a son and a daughter and lived in Mt. Prospect before moving to Elmhurst in 1991. Mrs. Jaresko-Marcyniuk began teaching in 1994 at Willowbrook High, where her courses included American history, world history, U.S. government and Western civilization. Her teaching style was discussion-based, with an emphasis on history and its relevance today, relatives said. "She never presented her own beliefs, but instead challenged us with questions that got us thinking and wanting to share our opinions," said Michael Aktipis, a 1999 graduate of Willowbrook High School who is now a student at Harvard Law School. "She was a wonderful teacher who inspired us to go way beyond what we were taught in the classroom and become better citizens of the world." "She was very proud of her Ukrainian heritage," said her son, Matthew. "She donated her time and money to aid Ukrainians and organized several fundraisers to help support the building of new churches in the Ukraine after the fall of communism." Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, Mrs. Jaresko-Marcyniuk continued to teach while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments, relatives said. Other survivors include a daughter, Alexandra; her mother, Mary Jaresko; a brother, John Jaresko; and a sister, Natalie Figlus. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday at Humes Funeral Home, 320 W. Lake St., Addison. Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 300 E. Army Trail Rd., Bloomingdale. In her youth, Mrs. Jaresko-Marcyniuk attended a weekend Ukrainian school in Chicago and became very active in the city's Ukrainian-American community. During the 1990s, she made two trips to Ukraine, one that was church-sponsored to celebrate the rebirth of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in that country, relatives said.