Marchuk Vasiliy & Katerina ; Daughter: Prokopchuk Agafia (Marchuk)

Marchuk, Vasiliy Marchuk, Katerina Prokopchuk (Marchuk), Agafya Vasiliy and Katerina Marchuk, farmers, lived in a small village close to Kołomyja, in the district of Stanisławów (today Kolomyya, Ivano-Frankivs’k District). In 1942, they met Ester Fund (later Kerner), a 36-year-old dentist from Stanisławów, who had been assigned to provide dental treatment for the local population. In February 1943, Fund heard rumors that even the doctors who had permission to work outside of the ghetto were about to be incarcerated there. When Marchuk learned of this, he offered Fund shelter in his home. She accepted, and after hiding her for a short time under a haystack, he moved her to his cowshed. Initially, Marchuk did not tell his wife and his 15-year-old daughter Agafya that he was harboring a Jew and he looked after Fund alone. Twice a day he brought her bread and milk, and he also gave her his fur coat. One day, Marchuk found a small bag of cyanide pills in Fund’s possession and fearing that she intended to commit suicide, he persuaded her to hand them over to him. After a few months, rumors began to spread that hidden Jews had been caught in the neighboring village. As a result, a wave of house searches across the entire region was imminent and Marchuk decided to tell his wife and daughter about his hidden ward. To his surprise, the two totally supported his deeds and thereafter helped him. Katerina, who was a pious Christian, actually had a dream in which Saint Mary appeared to her and promised her a place in heaven as a reward for her rescue efforts. When the Red Army liberated the area, on March 28, 1944, Marchuk journeyed to Kołomyja to find out if there were any Jews still alive in the area. He found a small number, who asked him to bring Fund to them. As a parting gift, the Marchuks gave Fund two bottles of linseed oil, which she could use instead of money to exchange for food. Right after the war, Fund left Ukraine and in 1949 settled in the United States.She maintained contact with the Marchuks and their offspring and hosted them several times in her home. On December 30, 1993, Yad Vashem recognized Vasiliy and Katerina Marchuk and their daughter, Agafya Prokopchuk, as Righteous Among the Nations.