Wasyl Kehart
In Memoriam
Notes
Wasyl Kehart was one of the earliest donors that helped to establish the Holy Dormition Orthodox Church in Benld, where he remained a parishioner until his death at 57 years old. Wasyl was born in 1874 to Nickolas Kehart and Anna Wasely Kehart in the town of Brezowa (then within the former Austro-Hungarian Empire). He emigrated to the US in 1896 (at about 22 years of age). He married Paraskeva Koval ("Pearl"), with whom he had five children: Mary Kehart Homyk, Rose Kehart Zebrun, Martin Kehart, Adam [aka Richard] Kehart, and Michael Kehart.
Below is the exact text of Wasyl Kehart's obituary from 1931.
Wasyl Kehart, a resident of this city for the past 22 years, passed away at his home at 110 North Fourth street at 4:00 o'clock Monday morning. He had been suffering from miner's asthma for many years, but was able to work. Friday night, however he took sick and was confined to his bed. He was thought to be some better the next day, but late Sunday night he took a turn for the worse and continued to sink until the end came.
The deceased was born In Austria 57 years ago. He came to this country 35 years ago and in 1902 the family moved to Benld from Pennsylvania. He was a member of Local Union No. 730, U.M.W. of A., and belonged to the St. John the Baptist Society, No. 94 and St. Nicholas lodge No. 184, both of this city. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, Mrs. Joe Zebrun, and Mrs. Anton Homyk of this city, and three sons, Martin of Marrero, LA, Adam of Chicago, and Mike of Pleasant Hill, IL, six grandchildren, George, Olga and William Zebrun; Annie, John and Anton Homyk and two brothers, Michael and Matthew of Connecticut.
Funeral services were held from the family residence to the Russian Greek Orthodox church at 9:00 o'clock AM, Wednesday with Rev. John Tertichny officiating and interment was made in the Russian Orthodox cemetery. Pallbearers were Mike Ressetar, John Jacke, Mike Arden ... [remainder of obituary not available].
Memory Eternal — вѣ́чнаѧ па́мѧть
Notes
- Many thanks to Olga Zebrun Kramer Rives for preserving and making available the original obituary of her great grandfather, Wasyl Kehart.
- Modern abbreviations for states (IL, LA) and time (AM/PM) were used in the above obituary. Otherwise no changes were made in the text.
- The "two daughters" named above--Mrs. Joe Zebrun and Mrs. Anton Homyk--are listed elsewhere on this site as Rose Kehart Zebrun and Mary Kehart Homyk, respectively.
- Some geneaology records have listed Wasyl's paternal grandfather as Andrew Kiechart. Note the different transliterated spelling of the last name.
- The colloquial phrase, "miner's asthma," was in the 1930s a misleading and trivializing term to refer to what would decades later be recognized as Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis (CWP)—commonly called black lung disease. In the early twentieth century, the introduction of mechanized cutting and loading equipment in mines dramatically increased the volume of fine, airborne dust (without adequate protection or ventilation/filtration) and thus also increased pulmonary pathology in miners. In the 1930s, the US Public Health Service played a major role in dismissing coal mine dust as virtually harmless. It was not until the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 that the U.S. government formally recognized "miner's asthma" as the fatal, preventable disease known as black lung.
Basic Information
| Full Name: | Kehart, Wasyl |
| Birth Date: | 1874 |
| Death Date: | 02 Mar 1931 |
| Place of Death: | Benld, IL |
| Service Place: | Holy Dormition Church, Benld, IL |
| Service Date: In this Orthodox context, most commonly the Service listed here would be a funeral service, which typically occurs in church, and is followed on the same day by the burial service that occurs at the grave site. In some cases, this term 'Service' might refer more generally to a memorial service. | 04 Mar 1931 |
| Officiating Clergy: | Rev. John Tertichny |
| Burial Place: | Holy Dormition Cemetery, Benld, IL |
| Burial Date: | 04 Mar 1931 |
The above information originates from historical/archival content, and is published for memorial, archival, and preservation purposes.
Photos of cemetery stones can be found here, or specifically in the Holy Dormition cemetery here.