Dr. Roman Bilak, MD, FACS

Dr. Roman Bilak, MD, FACS, passed away on Tuesday, December 18, 2018.

He was born on January 1, 1929 in Pomoriany, Western Ukraine and it is where he attended primary school.

In 1945, Dr. Bilak graduated from Gymnasium in Beyreuth, Bavaria (Germany). From 1946 until 1947, he attended one year of college at the Theologishe-Philosophische Hochschule in Dillingen Bavaria, Germany.

From 1947 until 1953, he attended the Medical Faculty of the Catholic University in Louvain, Belgium, graduating “cum laude” with his degree “Doctor of Medicine and Surgery”.

In September 1952, in Louvain, Belgium, he married Anna Morselt and they immigrated to the United States. They were blessed with four children, Yvonne M. Bilak-Krause and her husband, Larry of Chicago, IL, Christine T. Bilak of Kenosha, Stephan R. Bilak of Kenosha and André A. Bilak and his wife, Rebecca and their two daughters, Sylvia and Loretta of Milwaukee, WI.

In 1970, he married Dorothy Stewart. She preceded him in death in April, 1999.

In May, 2006, he married Irene Pyskir. Irene along with her three sons and daughter-in-law, Stephen Oleksiuk, Andrew (Claudia Laska) Oleksiuk and Daniel Oleksiuk, survive him.

From 1954 until 1955, Dr. Bilak served the rotating internship at Sioux Valley Hospital, Sioux Falls, SD. He practiced general medicine for one year in Highmore, SC.  From 1956 until 1959, Dr. Bilak served and completed his residency in general surgery at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Milwaukee, WI.

From 1960 until his retirement in 2002, Dr. Bilak was engaged in private practice of general surgery and medicine in Kenosha, WI.

In 1967, Dr. Bilak became a member of the American College of Surgeons. He was a member of the AMA, Wisconsin and Kenosha Medical Societies, Ukrainian American Medical Association and the Serra Club in Kenosha.  He was also active in the Kenosha Medical Society serving as its president in 1977.  He served on the medical staff of both Kenosha Memorial and St. Catherine’s Hospitals.

He was a member of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Kenosha and a former member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Kenosha. He was also a member of the St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church in Milwaukee and St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Chicago.

Dr. Bilak cherished his Ukrainian heritage supporting Ukrainian publications and institutions such as the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine, the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago and the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art. He spoke several languages: English, Ukrainian, French, German and Polish.

Dr. Bilak will be remembered as a dedicated and compassionate physician, a devoted father and grandfather. He was an avid reader and he also enjoyed nature at his summer home on Waubee Lake in Lakewood, WI.

Dr. Bilak is further survived by a sister, Irena Mychajluk of Rochester, NY; two nieces, Alexandra Marris of Rochester, NY and Lida (Miso) Suchy of Syracuse, NY; and several grandnieces and grandnephews.

He was preceded in death by his dear parents, Domicela and Swiatoslaw Bilak; his sister, Slava Zukowsky and two brothers-in-law, Dr. Zenon Mychajiluk and Dr. Anthony Zukowsky.