The Michalchyshyn family is one of many Ukrainian pioneer families who have shaped the history of Ukrainians in Manitoba. Walter Michalchyshyn was born on June 24, 1909 in Byczkiwci (Chortkiw), Crownland of Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Ukraine). In 1923, he came with his parents, George (Yurii) and Kateryna Michalchyshyn to Canada, and settled in Portage la Prairie. His parents were deeply religious and were very active in the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Portage la Prairie. They inspired their children and Walter followed his father’s footsteps, and became a cantor in Ukrainian Catholic churches.

In 1935 Walter married Catherine Kuzyk and worked as a baker in Brandon. Catherine was a devoted member of the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League and other Ukrainian women’s organization. In 1948, the couple bought a bakery in Shoal Lake and worked there until 1959. When they moved to Winnipeg, Walter got a position as a supervisor at the Donut House. Walter was a member of the Parish Council of St. Joseph’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, and the St. Nicholas Mutual Benefit Association. Walter and Catherine Michalchyshyn had five children: Irene (Gajecky), Stella (Hryniuk), Joseph, Ivan, and Ray. They are all educated professionals who followed their parents’ example in their love for Ukrainian culture and history. Catherine Michalchyshyn died on October 8, 2009 predeceased by Walter Michalchyshyn, who died on September 1, 2000

Stella Hryniuk was an assistant professor of History at the University of Manitoba. She was born in 1939 in Brandon, Manitoba where she obtained her elementary and secondary education. Her father, Walter Michalchyshyn, was born in Ukraine (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) and came to Canada as a young boy with his parents, George and Kateryna Michalchyshyn. They settled in Manitoba and lived in Brandon, Portage la Prairie, and Shoal Lake. From a young age, Stella Hryniuk wanted to understand and know more about her Ukrainian roots. She enrolled at the University of Manitoba and received a B.A. (1971) and M.A. (1974). Her Ph.D. dissertation (1985) dealt with the Ukrainian peasant society in Eastern Galicia.

After 1978, except one year (1986-1987) when she taught courses at the University of Toronto, she held teaching appointments at the University of Manitoba in the Departments of History, Education, and German and Slavic Studies. In 1997, she became an International Liaison Officer at the University of Manitoba, and helped students from foreign countries establish themselves at the University of Manitoba. Stella Hryniuk delivered many lectures and presentations on multiculturalism and Ukrainian history for which she received the University of Manitoba Outreach Award and the Dr.& Mrs. Campbell Outreach Award in 1991. She was also named YM-YWCA Woman of Distinction (1993) and received awards for Excellence in Research (1991). To further her studies, Stella Hryniuk made many trips to Ukraine, Poland, and Brazil.

For her extensive research, she received many grants from the Canadian government and various Ukrainian institutions and organizations. Stella Hryniuk wrote four books: Peasants with promise: Ukrainians in southeastern Galicia, 1880-1900 (1991), The land they left behind: Canada's Ukrainians in the homeland (with J. Pickinicki,1995), Holy Family Home: the first 50 years (2007), and To pray again as a Catholic: the renewal of Catholicism in Western Ukraine (1995). She was also the editor of three books: Twenty years of multiculturalism: successes and failures (1992), Canada's Ukrainians: negotiating an identity (with Lubomyr Luciuk; 1991), and Minutes of the Chair of Ukrainian Studies Seminar, Toronto (1991). She also published numerous articles and reviews, many of them co-authored with Dr. Fred Stambrook, Dr. R. Yereniuk, Prof. L.Luciuk, and J. Pickinicki. Stella Hryniuk served on many committees including the Canadian Association of Slavists, Canadian Conference on Ukrainian Studies, Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre in Winnipeg, and Ukrainian Professional and Business Club in Winnipeg. She has organized and raised funds for conferences held in St. John's College, University of Manitoba. She was an advisor for Partners for Civic Society, Canada - Ukraine Partners Programs for ESL Program in Ukraine (1995-1997).

Stella Hryniuk's academic research in Ukraine and her work in the Ukrainian community greatly enhanced the study of the Ukrainian Canadian experience.