Romana H Fedasiuk

Romana Helen Fedasiuk (nee Dyki), a longtime resident of Berkeley Heights, NJ, passed away on February 20, 2021. She was 84 years old. Romana is survived by her children, Lana Watson, also of Berkeley Heights and Mark Fedasiuk of Phoenix, AZ and her four grandchildren Mark Watson, Ryan Fedasiuk, Kyle Fedasiuk and Alex Watson, as well as a sister-in-law (Luba Klachko), two nieces (Marta Klachko Longo, Daria Klachko Longo and husbands Bob Longo and James Totten respectively) and several great-nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Bohdan D. Fedasiuk. Romana was born on April 8, 1936, in Ukraine, to Olga (nee Zelechiwsky) and Eugene Dyki. Never shy about sharing her story, many have heard how she traveled at a very young age through Mittenwald, Germany and spent time in a Displaced Persons camp during the war. She often spoke of being a lifelong light sleeper due to the constant sounds of bombing. She came to the United States in the early 1950s and settled in Newark, where she learned to speak English, studied very hard and became a member of St John’s Ukrainian Catholic Church. Eager to make something of herself, she graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry in 1959. In 1955, she married Bohdan Fedasiuk and then a few years later began a family. Romana instilled the values of strength, dedication, resourcefulness, independence and caring in her children that live on to this day. She was extremely selfless and was always driven to help others in any way that she could. She made a career in the pharmaceutical industry as an Analytical Chemist and Group Manager, working for many years for Hoechst-Roussell Pharmaceuticals in Somerville. When she retired, she founded a business tracking test results for laboratories, and was very proud of her technical know-how. She was often known to say that she was the most tech-savvy of all her friends and was always available to help them with their technology problems. However, her absolute passion was on the ski slopes. An accomplished black-diamond skier, she lived to travel to Vermont, the Rockies, and internationally to the Alps. She was a long-time escort for various ski tour groups. In fact, she skied for two weeks just a month before cancer ultimately took her life. She made many dear friends along the way. Romana will be remembered as a generous, optimistic and engaging soul who loved to walk in the community and meet other people, who inevitably became staunch friends. She will be deeply missed. Her funeral is scheduled for 9:30 am on Friday, February 26, 2021 at Lytwyn & Lytwyn Funeral Home in Union NJ. Although COVID-19 limits the number who can attend in person, there will be a Zoom link (below) so that anyone can attend and honor Romana’s life. In addition, a future celebration of her life will be planned when the situation permits. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Cancer Society. Condolences can be sent to 111 Orion Road, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922. In any event, here is the Zoom link for the service: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87841840218... Passcode: 000293