Wasylyna Werbiansky

Wasylyna “Sylvia” Werbiansky, 89, formerly of Elkhart, passed away the afternoon of Monday, March 25, 2024 in Granger.

She was born in Lopushna, Ukraine, on December 8th, 1934, to Ilia and Barbara (Huzak) Gontaruk. As the violence of World War II encroached eastern Europe, Wasylyna and her family fled westward. In the immediate postwar period, Wasylyna and her family were briefly housed in a Displaced Persons camp in Germany. She then immigrated to the United States on the sponsorship of a church in the Goshen/Elkhart area. It was during a dance social in Elkhart where she met her eventual husband Eugene Werbiansky, himself an immigrant from Ukraine. The two were married in 1953 at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Elkhart.

Much of Wasylyna’s working life was spent as a seamstress in Elkhart. She began her career at Whitehall Laboratories, and retired from the Monaco Coach Corporation, where she served as the head of the sewing department (and was able to work with top companies such as Ralph Lauren). Both she and her husband held their Ukrainian heritage with deep pride and worked with various local church and ethnic programs for decades to promote and celebrate their culture.

She is survived by her four children, Barbara (Gregory) Bennett of Goshen, Martha (Gregory Holtz) Werbiansky of Bloomington, Andrew (Mary Jo) Werbiansky of Mokena, Illinois, and Matthew Werbiansky of Elkhart; nine grandchildren; and five great grandchildren.

Along with her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Eugene in 2018, and siblings, Helen Jarowyi, Katherine Dwojak, and William Gontaruk.

Visitation will be Thursday, March 28, beginning at 10 a.m. prior to the 12 p.m. funeral service at Yoder-Culp Funeral Home, Goshen.

Burial will follow in Oakridge Cemetery, Goshen.