b'An Extraordinary LegacyJohn ProkipchukJohn Michael Prokipchuk was born in 1924 in the R.M. of Stuartburn, part of the Vita district of southeastern Manitoba. He was the oldest son of Michael and Maria Prokipchuk (Kolodrupski).He grew up on the family farm in Stuartburn, but then moved to Winnipeg to continue his education, where he graduated from Isaac Newton High School in 1943 as one of the top grade 12 matriculation students. After high school, John attended the Winnipeg Teachers College (called Normal School in those days). After graduating in 1945, he taught in very small semi-rural schools around Winnipeg for the next 8 years. Continuing his love of learning and looking to improve his earning potential, John took courses in Registered Industrial Accounting for the next several yearsa line of work perfectly suited to his meticulous nature. In 1952 he joined the Canadian National Railways Accounting Department. In 1960 he married his long-time friend, Elizabeth Nadia Olynyk. Two years later he was transferred to the newly established CNR Mountain Region Headquarters in Edmonton, Alberta as the Budget Assistant in the regional comptrollers office. After completing 32 years of service, John retired from CNR in 1984.Despite growing up on the farm in a world clouded by the hardships of the Great Depression, and later by the uncertainties of World War II, John was an avid reader with a wide range of interests, including fine art and music.As a young man he dabbled with playing the piano and painting landscapes in oil. Later in life when his eyesight began to fail, his love of art and the arts continued by way of financial support to the arts community in Edmonton, and again in Winnipeg, where he returned in 1985. Johns love and support of the arts was one of the many thingsthat motivated John to become a Kobzar Fellow, announcing his intent to leave a bequest in his Will to the Shevchenko Foundation in 2013. He passed away in Winnipeg on January 23, 2020.John Prokpichuks legacy of love of his community lives through his generous bequest to several major foundations, including the Shevchenko Foundation. ShevchenkoFoundationAnnualReport/ 43'