The former Kataryna Piasecka, who was born in Ukraine on December 17, 1928, and raised by her mother, Anna Kunyk, passed away at the Elderwood Health Care at Lancaster, at the age of 90.  As a child, she enjoyed playing with the chickens in her village and loved sharing stories about growing up in Ukraine, like the time she put pepper in her sleeping uncle's mouth and blamed her cousins.

She met her husband, the late John Hajduk, in Germany during WWII. He played soccer and also worked at the local shoe factory. They married in 1951, in Manchester, England, where Kataryna also went to work in the shoe factory. The couple lived in Canada for a couple of years before getting their U.S. citizenship and moving to Buffalo. In September of 1969, Kataryna stopped working as a cleaner at the Buffalo Athletic Club, in Buffalo, and the family moved to Vern Lane in Cheektowaga. Her husband the late John later retired as a material handler on the assembly line from Ford Motor Co. and they both spent more time enjoying their grandchildren.

Besides being predeceased by her devoted Husband the late John Hajduk, Kataryna is survived by her two loving daughters, Irene (Martin) Gregory and Joanne (Anthony Scapillato) Hajduk and was the proud grandmother of Andrew Gregory, Daniel (Molly) Gregory and Theresa (Charles Hess) Shaffer.

She was a fond great-grandmother of Rylee Gregory and Emmet Gregory.

When her children were growing up, the family often visited cousins in Jamestown, New York and took yearly vacations to Toronto, Glen Spey for the Ukrainian Festival, and picnicking at Chestnut Ridge Park. Kataryna also enjoyed gardening, bird watching, embroidery, knitting, Ukrainian concerts and especially dancing. She loved cooking Ukrainian food and shared her pierogi recipe with friends at Elderwood at Lancaster, where she resided for the past few years. The potato filling was her favorite!

The Family will be present on Friday, May 31, 2019, from 4-8 PM at the Pietszak Funeral Home at 2400 William Street (near Harlem) where a Panachyda Service will be held at 7 PM and Saturday, June 1, 2019, at 10:15 AM.

A Funeral Liturgy will follow at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, located at Fillmore and Oneida Streets, in Buffalo, New York at 11 AM.

Burial will follow at St. Matthew's Cemetery, in West Seneca, New York.

Flowers are gratefully declined.

Donations in Kataryna's memory may be made to St. Nicholas Church Special Funds.