Bohdan Hnatiuk

Bohdan (85) passed into eternal peace on October 1, 2025. He was the beloved husband of Wiebke, dear father of Natalie (Thomas) and Mark (Luisa), loving grandfather of Audrey, Jack, and Luisa, loyal brother of Andree (Vicki) and brother-in-law of Martha, and affectionate uncle to 6 nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother, Anna, his father, Miroslaw, and his brother, George.

Our beloved Bohdan was born in Tluste, Western Ukraine, on May 3, 1940. He was baptized emergently during a life-threatening illness as an infant in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. His love of the Lord and of his native Ukraine were to remain central pillars of his long life. Bohdan’s father and uncle were resistance fighters striving for a free and independent Ukraine against the Soviets and Nazis. The family fled Soviet tyranny in 1944,continuing their work for a free Ukraine in exile. Bohdan was awakened by his father at dawn on December 23, 1949, in time to witness the Statue of Liberty as their ship entered the New York Harbor, landing at Ellis Island. His early years were spent in Philadelphia, the birth city of the American experiment. Bohdan’s lifelong deep gratitude and love for America was ingrained in him by these formative experiences.

After attending primary school, where he was known as “Raymond,” since Bohdan was too exotic to pronounce by his peers, he continued his faith and intellectual formation at the Jesuit run St. Joseph’s preparatory academy. Upon graduation, he followed in his father’s footsteps and studied medicine at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. There he was to meet his future wife, Wiebke nee Herrmann. They were married in 1968 in Philadelphia. The newlyweds returned to Germany. There, Bohdan completed his internship in Lüneburg, where his daughter Natalie was born in1969. The family then returned to the U.S. at which time Bohdan began his internship and residency in Ob/Gyn at Oakwood Hospital. After his training, he embarked on a 42-year long career in a busy private practice, caring for and establishing long enduring relationships with his patients. He would even deliver 3 generations in many cases. He was committed to medical student and residency education. He was a favorite mentor of residents who admired his “old school” skill, work ethic, humor, and the many journal club parties he hosted in his home until the late night hours.

Bohdan travelled extensively. His dream came true when he was able to travel back to his beloved Ukraine in 1984. He returned in 1991, after Ukrainian independence from Soviet domination. He was able to share this longed for and emotional experience with his father, who was part of the Ukrainian Bandurist Choir of North America. They toured across Ukraine celebrating Ukraine’s rich cultural history through music with the Ukrainian people.

“Raymond” was an avid athlete and played soccer through to his university years, but also played high school football, and dabbled in boxing. He had a passion for music, starting with classical piano and progressing to tenor saxophone, which he played in the school’s marching band and in his own gigging jazz band, the “Sentimental Quintet.” In his limited free time from work, he enjoyed the company of his wife, deeply immersed himself in the study of global politics. He was an omnipresent documentarian of our family life in photography and video and worked his land into beautiful landscapes enjoying much time outdoors. He loved all life as sacred and literally couldn’t hurt a fly and provided continual feed for the forest birds. While he haunted the Myrtle Beach Pier for many hours each day to fish, he mostly accepted fish as gifts from other fisherman, whom he befriended with his disarming openness and humor. He loved the poetry of Taras Shevchenko, pined for Ukraine in tears many a night listening to Ukrainian folk music, and kept alive the customs and traditions of his homeland in our family, preserving the Ukrainian cultural heritage in the diaspora.

“Doc” is known by all by his engaging sense of hospitality (“nobody leaves my home hungry or thirsty”), hosting many a long evening in his home making anyone feel like part of the family. His sense of humor was a memorable endowment (“My name is Bohdan, in Ukrainian it means I’m ‘God’s gift’”), which he used to connect with people with his deep empathy. He was always ready with a joke for anyone who would listen, sometimes finding it difficult to get to the punch line by cracking himself up. Bohdan modelled a tireless work ethic, duty-bound as he was to his patients, never making an excuse or missing a day of work (“If something is worth doing, it is worth doing right”), wholly dedicated to his profession of bringing life into the world. He was a generous provider, not only for patients, but especially for family, friends, and even the stranger. He would give anyone who asked for the shirt off his back. He was mindful of the marginalized and would leave an extra plate at family dinners for the “wandering stranger,” and often cheered for a sports team merely because they were the underdog. He exhibited the virtue of humility. Bohdan did not need the spotlight, he preferred to labor in the trenches under the radar for the sake of others, even so he was consistently recognized by his patients in hospital patient care surveys. Ultimately, Bohdan was a deeply prayerful man, humble before God, yet living his life in a bold and unapologetic way.

He will be remembered as a loving husband, loyal brother, embraceable uncle, provident father, intimate friend, exemplary doctor, most generous host, and sentimental mensch.

A visitation will be held at the R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Home, 15451 Farmington Rd., Livonia, Thursday, October 9, 2025 from 4:00 unitl 8:00 PM with a Rosary Service at 7:00 PM. A Funeral Mass will be held for him on Friday, October 10, 2025 at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Ukranian Catholic Church, 26667 Joy Rd., Dearborn Heights at 10:00 AM with visitation starting at  9:30 AM.