Vasyl Parfenovich Kozachuk

Vasyl Parfenovich Kozachuk, 93 years old, passed to his eternal glory January 18, 2023. He was born to Parfen and Evdokia Kozachuk (Guntuh), a carpenter who was also a pastor of a local Christian church and a homemaker, in Votelivka, Ukraine, on December 23, 1929. In 1949 he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior and got baptized in Rivne, Ukraine. He was immersed in the Christian community that would be his lifelong support. During the communist era as a leader of an underground church he got arrested and sentenced to prison time on February 22, 1968. He was released from prison on August 22, 1969. In 1991 Vasyl was rehabilitated as a victim of political repression. Vasyl was ordained as a pastor in 1992. He founded and pastored a Baptist church in Boyarka, Ukraine until he immigrated to the United States, Santa Barbara, in 1999. They became members of First Ukrainian Baptist church, where he served his Savior preaching His Word. He described himself as a “Bible Christian”. He loved Jesus and served Him and the church faithfully. He often could be found reading his Bible and writing his thoughts, sometimes in poems. He loved helping people and was also involved in serving the Santa Barbara community as a volunteer at the Food Bank. Vasyl was blessed with a loving family. He was married to his wife Praskovija Kozachuk for more than 64 years. He raised his two sons Peter (wife Irina) and Pavel (wife Dina) and has 4 grandchildren: Anna (husband Alex) Shapiro, Yekaterina Kozachuk, Filipp (wife Alexandra) Kozachuk and Jessica Kozachuk. He has two great-grandchildren - Benjamin and Daniel Shapiro. He loved his grandchildren with passion and was very involved in their upbringing, playing with them, visiting parks, reading, and teaching about God. He never missed their events and music performances and was always loving and supportive. He loved family gatherings and loved to quiz his grandchildren on his favorite book - the Bible. Vasyl was blessed with a long and fruitful life. He will be missed dearly by all of his family and numerous nieces and nephews as well as his church family. The Memorial service to celebrate Vasyl Kozachuk’s life will be held at the Welch-Ryce-Haider Funeral Chapel, Ward Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93111, on January 24, 2023 at 10:00am, followed by a graveside service and a burial at 12:00pm at the Goleta Cemetery. The Kozachuk family is very grateful to everyone who helped take care of Vasyl in his last years, to all caretakers, doctors and nurses. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to First Ukrainian Baptist Church of Santa Barbara.

Vasyl Parfenovich Kozachuk

December 23, 1929 - January 18, 2023