Viola C Malachuk

Viola Malachuk of Peterborough, NH died on May 8, 2023, just weeks before what would have been her 99th birthday.  Viola was predeceased by her husband Daniel Malachuk, Sr. who died in 2006 after 62 years of a marriage that was foremost in Viola’s retelling of the many blessings that she counted as adding up to a wonderful life.

Viola was born on June 5, 1924 and grew up in Jersey City, NJ, the youngest of three daughters born to her parents, Frank and Maria Carmela Scerbo.  Despite having endured her formative years during the great depression of the 1930s, she blossomed as the “Dancing Queen” of Dickinson High School and then as a young mother with a husband in the US Army Air Corps, called up for duty in World War II.  She did manage to join him for a brief time with their infant son, Daniel Jr., living in a basement apartment in Denver while her husband was in B-29 training nearby.

In the decades after the war, she and her husband Dan built a life together.  In addition to raising two children, Viola worked as an invaluable helpmate from 1950 to 1966 as they launched and grew a thriving retail jewelry business in Plainfield, NJ.  Later, their interest took a different turn, and Viola again worked alongside Dan in creating a religious publishing venture that yielded more than 250 titles and 180 million books in print.  Always an avid reader as well as a woman of strong faith, Viola worked full time as the senior editor.  Focused on charismatic renewal, Viola and Dan’s publishing role led to opportunities for travel throughout the world, joining with people of many nations and denominations for interfaith meetings and conferences.

Retiring from publishing in 1983, Viola and Dan moved from New Jersey to Peterborough to be closer to their daughter, Diane, and her young children.  In Peterborough, Viola’s life was active, including service in leadership roles at the Monadnock Congregational Church and the Peterborough Woman’s Club, where she served as President from 1988 to 1992.

Viola was predeceased by her sisters, Helen and Stella.  She is survived by her son, Daniel Jr. (Virginia), her daughter, Diane Francesca, and her five grandchildren: Daniel Stephen Malachuk, Michael Rodney Malachuk, Katherine Anne Malachuk, Christopher Noel Ropiecki and Jennifer Anne Ropiecki; and, two great grandchildren: Paul Daniel Malachuk and Lena Grace Sherwood.

Private visitation and burial, for the family, will be on Friday, May 19.  Friends and relatives are invited to a memorial service at 2:00 pm on May 20 at the Monadnock Congregational Church, Wilton Road, Peterborough.