Obituary of Luba Ostapiak

Luba Ostapiak (née Bilozir), 77, of Morristown, NJ, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Wednesday, September 18, 2024. She was born on December 5, 1946, in Ansbach, Germany to Ukrainian parents displaced during World War II. At age 2, she immigrated with her family to the United States, settling in Newark, NJ where she spent her childhood years. She later married and moved to Pine Brook, NJ, where she raised her family.

Luba was the loving and devoted mother of three daughters who were her greatest joy. Her daughters will greatly miss her and will treasure fond memories of her - going to the beach and collecting seashells, going on photo excursions, cooking meals together, attending local festivals and concerts, visiting botanical gardens. She was also a loving, thoughtful and supportive aunt and great aunt.

For many years, Luba was a Ukrainian community activist. She was very proud of her involvement in the Reagan and Bush campaigns through her work with the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and being named Ethnic Community Liaison during Thomas Kean’s gubernatorial campaign. Luba served as Vice Chairman of the Republican Heritage Federation of NJ, treasurer of a local branch of the Ukrainian scouting organization PLAST and was a member of Branch 18 of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America.  Luba also helped promote Ukrainian culture while serving as an executive committee member of the annual Ukrainian Arts Festivals at the Garden State Arts Center.

Because Luba was very sociable, she held other positions that utilized her ability to easily interact with others, most notably as a nightclub manager, realtor, and property manager.

Luba pursued varied interests and hobbies. She was a student of prominent artist John Grabach, who further nurtured her innate artistic talent. Luba immensely enjoyed talking and being with people and was quick to offer a helping hand to a family member, a neighbor, or a stranger. She loved listening to music and would immediately start dancing to anything upbeat. And perhaps most of all, Luba found pleasure in taking spontaneous drives to see where her “little adventures” took her.

Luba is survived by her daughters Christine Ostapiak, Larysa Atzl and her husband Andrew, and Natalie Ostapiak; numerous nieces and nephews, and 5 grand cats & kittens. She was predeceased by her mother Anna Bilozir and former husband Roman Ostapiak with whom she maintained a close relationship.

Family and friends are welcome to gather at the Burroughs, Kohr & Dangler Funeral Home in Madison, NJ, on Sunday, September 22, 2024, from 2:00 to 5:00pm. A funeral service will be held at St John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Newark on Monday, September 23, 2024, at 10:00am followed by interment at the St Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery in Bound Brook, NJ. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in her memory be made to the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) in Morristown, The Friends of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morris Township, or to a charity of your choice.