Larissa Katolik

Larissa Katolik, a longtime survivor of metastatic breast cancer and melanoma, passed in her home on March 11, 2019, surrounded by her loving family and dedicated caregivers. 

The beloved wife of the late Iwan and loving mother of George (Loy), Victoria (Tony), Christine (Jenny), Olga (Alex), Leonid (Jill), and Vira (Jim). She was also the dear grandmother of Kristin, Alexis, Aiden, Niko, Tim, Jack, Mike, Joe, Karla, Stefanie, David and Jenni. And the proud great-grandmother of Declan, Carter and Ava.

Larissa was born in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, and after her father was taken prisoner of war during WWII, she and her mother were placed in a forced labor camp in Germany. Once the war was over, she and her mother came to United States where they settled in Philadelphia. Despite all this adversity, Larissa made a successful life for herself and her family due to her hardworking nature. She was fluent in several languages, very well read, and devoured books from her local library.

Larissa loved flowers and enjoyed gardening as well as growing and tending to her many houseplants, especially African violets. She enjoyed jogging at night in her younger years when she lived in Philadelphia, and later was known to walk around her Blue Bell neighborhood, greeting everyone by name. She also enjoyed movies, plays, musicals and ballet, followed by big meals and always a coffee or two. She attended her Ukrainian Orthodox church as long as she could, and loved carrying on Ukrainian traditions, especially around Easter and Christmas, including preparing huge, delicious meals, always ensuring that everyone was well fed.

Larissa dedicated her life to her family, who learned so much from her. She taught them to believe that if you work hard, you will succeed in whatever you put your mind to. A kind and gentle yet strong, hardworking and independent person, she will be missed by many. “Wherever a beautiful soul has been, there is a trail of beautiful memories.”

Viewing to begin 9am on Saturday at the Fletcher-Nasevich Funeral Home, 9529 Bustleton Avenue, Philadelphia. Requiem service to begin at 11am at St. Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral, 6740 N. 5th Street, Phila. Internment at Lawnview Cemetery in Rockledge.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Larissa’s memory may be made to the Wissahickon Valley Public Library, C/O WVPL, 650 Skippack Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422.

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