Agnes Palanuk, 91, Dickinson, most recently a resident of Hill Top Home of Comfort, Killdeer, passed away on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 after a lifetime of hard but rewarding work, notable accomplishments, and loving relationships. There will be a private family Divine Liturgy at St. Demetrius Ukrainian Catholic Church, Fairfield. Interment will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Fairfield. There will be public visitation on Monday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Ladbury Funeral Service, Dickinson.
Agnes Oksana Cerkoney was born June 3, 1929 to Dan and Polly (Kopichuk) Cerkoney. She grew up on an expanding farm on the Green River in Billings Country, next to the farm of Polly’s parents, Dmytro and Mary Hawryluk. She was one of 14 children. Her early childhood was spent performing chores such as herding cattle on unfenced pastures, but also included swimming, fishing, and sneaking over to Grandma Krivorushka’s chokecherry patch as the fruit ripened. Beyond the demands of the farm, the life of Agnes and her family was deeply rooted in the growing Ukrainian immigrant community that was establishing itself in that area. Amid a constant variety of community and church activities, Agnes found time to attend catechism and Ukrainian language classes taught by the Sisters of Mary Immaculate during the summer.
As a young teenager, Agnes was chosen with one other girl from the community to attend St. Basil’s Academy, a private, Ukrainian Catholic college preparatory high school in Jenkinton, Pennsylvania. In spite of the difficulties that this presented, the family rallied to make Agnes’s attendance possible, in part, with money from her mother, who raised and sold chickens on her behalf. For the rest of her life she retained vivid memories of the excitement and promise of the train trip east with its new sights and experiences at every turn. The time at St. Basil’s turned out to be transformative, providing a range of opportunities for growth and stoking a love of learning that helped shape the rest of her life. Agnes graduated as valedictorian in 1947 and was described in the yearbook as “capable…a little bit independent…piercing brown eyes…impetuous…willing, smiling and friendly.”
Not long after Agnes’s return to her North Dakota home, she was married to William Palanuk, and they began their life together on property near Gorham, where they farmed, raised Hereford cattle, and were active members of St. Josephat Ukrainian Church, as well as the larger local Ukrainian community. In 1949, Agnes gave birth to their first child, Beverly Jean. Throughout their time there, they continuously made improvements to the land that increased their chances for success, and, in 1958, their effort resulted in William receiving an award for Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year.
While the demands of creating a new life on the land were imposing for the new couple, Agnes found a way to also get her teaching credentials and begin a classroom career that lasted 15 years. For much of that time she taught at a series of one-room schools in the area, where she enthusiastically, efficiently, and creatively educated four to fourteen students from grades 1-8 each year, while also stoking the coal stoves, oiling the floors, etc. Never satisfied with simply covering the basics, Agnes ensured that the students also experienced athletics, field trips, YCL, and involvement in innovative Christmas plays and programs. With demographic changes, the latter years of her teaching career were spent in consolidated schools at Fairfield and Grassy Butte, which mercifully eliminated any further need for horseback commutes in driving rainstorms and raging blizzards.
In 1959, the family moved their farm and cattle operation 20 miles north to the former Harold Larson ranch near Fairfield. Located on the edge of the Badlands, the ranch seemed a paradise with wooded draws and buttes, a marked contrast to the dominant rolling prairie hills of the old farm. It was a good place to raise Beverly and her new brother William Jr. (Bill), who was born within a year of the move. It also allowed Agnes to continue her teaching career.
In 1978, satisfied with their accomplishments and the children gone on to lives of their own, William and Agnes “hung up their spurs and saddles” and moved to Dickinson. Freed from the responsibilities of ranch life and teaching, Agnes found herself drawn to the preservation of the stories, the beliefs, and the cultural practices of the local Ukrainian community that had protected, comforted, and nurtured her ever since the moment of her birth. And so she responded —— with enthusiasm that became a passion; with the development of community support and involvement; with research that took her many places, including the halls of Harvard; with hundreds of interviews over countless cups of coffee; with published papers and books, Including an encyclopedic history of Billings County; with oral presentations to audiences of all stripes; with the teaching of classes; with a weekly radio program; with a documentary film; with guided trips to the Ukraine primarily for community members interested in exploring their heritage; and finally, with the establishment of a yearly festival and the Ukrainian Cultural Institute. She responded indeed, to the extent that she was selected for the 2009 Governor’s Award for the Arts. And yet she never responded without acknowledging the critical role of others and never without feeling that there was so much more to do. She responded until her body and her mind made it impossible for her to respond anymore. And at that point, she left us for the rest that she so richly deserves. May Agnes rest in peace, and may we take solace in her story and the stories that she preserved.
Agnes was preceded in death by her husband, William, her daughter, Beverly, her parents, and her brothers and sisters. She is survived by her son, William Jr. (Bill), and his wife, Becky, six grandchildren —— Nathan, Kimberly, Aaron, Chaz, Samantha and Megan, and four great-grandchildren —— Everly, Olive, Trae and Deion.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to St. Demetrius Ukrainian Museum Hostel Fund, 2123 Hwy 85, Belfield, ND 58622.
