Stefan Ircha

Stefan Ircha, longtime resident of Milanville, Pennsylvania, was called to our Heavenly Father

on Saturday, March 2nd, at the age of 93 years. He passed away in the comfort of his home,

having been administered last rites, surrounded by his children and grandchildren, and

overlooking the Delaware River and nature. At the time of his last breath, red cardinals that had

gathered by his window flew away as if to carry him to Heaven.

Stefan was born in Ternopil, Ukraine on August 30, 1925 to Dmytro and Anna Ircha. He

survived the Ukrainian Holodomor and Eastern Europe during the turmoil of World War II and

experienced great personal suffering. After the war, from a displaced persons camp and never

to see his parents again, he chose to immigrate to New York City where he met his beloved wife

of nearly 45 years before her passing, Marie Kruk, daughter of Ukrainian immigrants. They

raised their four children in the Ukrainian neighborhood of lower Manhattan as well as Beach

Lake, Pennsylvania in the summers.

By every measure, he was the personification of the American Dream. Upon his arrival in New

York, Stefan worked hard and later founded his own building company which specialized in the

development of planned communities notably in Levittown, Pennsylvania and Levittown, New

York. Stefan was well-read, self-taught, intelligent, sophisticated, funny, caring, strict, loving,

and handsome. His skills in the culinary arts delighted his family and friends for many years. He

was a Renaissance man who knew how to do everything and solve every problem. You always

felt safe in his presence. He strongly believed in education, and he and Marie made sure that

their four children were educated at the highest levels of academia at top American universities.

He always said, “books are your friends.”

In retirement, Stefan moved to Milanville, Pennsylvania where he enjoyed outdoor activities and

nature and many visits from his family. His children and grandchildren are going to miss sitting

on his porch swing with him and observing all the happenings on the Delaware River and

throughout Wayne County, Pennsylvania.

In 1994, after a 52 year separation, the result of wars and communism, he was reunited with the

help of the International Red Cross with his only sibling, sister Marusha. They had the

opportunity to reconnect and spend time together before her passing a few years later.

Stefan is survived by his four children, daughter Marie (Robert Young), grandchildren Marie

(deceased), Liana, and Noelle, of Port Washington, New York; daughter Lucille of Manhattan;

son Steven (Jane), grandchildren Steven Jr, Sasha, Kirsten, Caroline, and Jane of Bronxville,

New York; and daughter Suzanne (Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson IV, currently serving as US

Ambassador to the United Kingdom), and grandchildren Brick (Robert Wood Johnson V), and

Jack of London and Manhattan. Stefan’s children lovingly called him Tato (dad in Ukrainian),

and his grandchildren called him Dido (grandfather in Ukrainian).

After a funeral mass of the Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic rite at Holy Spirit Ukrainian Catholic

Church in Campbell Hall, New York on March 4th, Stefan was laid to rest next to his late wife

Marie. May they rest in eternal peace together.  Local arrangements by Hessling Funeral Home, Inc., 428 Main St. Honesdale.