Stella Kordonowy, 92, Hopkins, Minn., formerly of the Belfield area, died Sunday, August 18, 2013 in Minnesota. A Parastas for Stella will be at 10 a.m., Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Church, Belfield, with Fr. Taras Miles as celebrant and assisted by Deacon Leonard Kordonowy. Interment will follow at the St. John Catholic Cemetery, Belfield. Visitation will be one hour prior to services at the church on Tuesday.
Stella was born on May 12, 1921 on the family farm in Gorham, the daughter of Peter and Paraska (Pearl Palaniuk) Basaraba. She was preceded in death by Frank, her husband, by her parents, and by siblings George, John, William, Nick and Mary. She is survived by sisters Ann of Minneapolis and Dorothy (Joe) Zilkowski of Dickinson and by her five children, Ken of Seattle, Wash., Darlene (Jay Abbott) of Bainbridge Island, Wash., Tom (Jan) of Deephaven, Minn., Nita of Lindstrom, Minn. and David (Anita) of Minnetonka, Minn. She is also survived by 10 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.
Stella attended country schools in Billings County, walking the long distances required in those times. She went on to graduate from Belfield High School. Farm life was not easy, but Stella actually enjoyed tending to the ducks and geese and loved horseback riding. Those early lessons of hard work at the farm were practiced throughout her life, be it in the steel mills in Gary, Indiana or when working with her husband in the restaurant business while raising five children and managing their household.
Stella married Frank Kordonowy on October 26, 1943 in Ukraina, N.D., before his Army post dispatched him, ultimately to Europe, during WWII. They settled in Belfield where they owned and operated Frank’s Coffee Shop for over 20 years while raising their family. They were civic leaders (Frank served as Mayor for 26 years) and active in various leadership roles with St John’s Ukrainian Catholic Church.
Stella set strict standards for her family, instilling values of cleanliness, order and respect for home and family. Before school every morning she would place the day’s wardrobe for each of her children on their beds (after their beds were made), the socks and underwear had been ironed, the jeans creased and shirts or blouses looking as if they had just been purchased. Stella’s homemaking and cooking abilities were praised by all and live-on in the kitchens of daughters-in-laws and grandchildren – everyone loves Stella’s pyrohi!
Stella’s children meant everything to her. In her later years, nothing gave her greater happiness than seeing or hearing about her grandchildren. Stella found wonder and delights in everything about them. The hard years on the farm, the responsibility of raising her family and working to provide for them gave way to the joy of life–her extended family.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Ukrainian Cultural Institute, PO Box 6, Dickinson, ND 58601
