Viktor Tkaczenko, 93, of Wayne, NJ, passed away on Sunday, October 20 with his loving family by his side. He was born to Alexander and Julia Tkaczenko on May 7, 1931, in Tagenrog, Ukraine. Together with his older sister Clara and his parents, they resided there until World War II broke out. They were forced to work for the German army when the front reached Ukraine in 1943.
The family was taken to work in a German field hospital and later at a munitions factory in Germany. In 1945, Viktor, then 15 years old, was living with his parents and sister in a bombed-out building, scavenging for food and taking cover when the allied planes approached to drop war bombs. They then spent four years in a displaced persons camp before the family had the opportunity to immigrate to the United States.
Viktor and his parents arrived in America via a liberty ship in 1949, and he enlisted in the United States Army during the Korean War so he could serve his new country and earn his citizenship within three years. Because of his fluency in five languages, he was assigned to the Berlin Military Intelligence Compound. After completing his service, he was sent to Fort Dix for his honorable discharge and was sworn in as a United States citizen in 1955.
Viktor was loving, caring and devoted to his family and always spoke his mind. He was so very blessed to have had two wonderful wives in his lifetime. He married his first wife, Elizabeth, in 1955 and had two children together, Teresa who was born in 1960 and Craig who was born in 1964. They spent 28 loving years together until her passing in April of 1983.
Viktor had many hobbies, and thoroughly enjoyed snow and water skiing, scuba diving, and vacationing yearly with his family at Schroon Lake, NY, with his boat. He had a love for cars, old and new, but mostly antique cars. He restored many cars over the years, and being the perfectionist he was, everything was meticulous and the end result was impeccable.
While working on the management team at Polychrome Corporation, he met his second wife, Beverly. They spent 37 loving and wonderful years together. She always said he was her “soulmate.” They were very active during their years together, traveling to many interesting places and vacation destinations. They were members of many organizations, including the Cadillac LaSalle Club, and the Cadillac Club of North Jersey. He restored a 1962 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz for Beverly with a plaque on the dashboard which reads: “Owned and restored by Viktor Tkaczenko for Beverly – 2000.” They were also active members of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Club, and the Army Air Corp Historical Association.
Viktor is survived by his wife of 37 years, Beverly (nee Chasin) Tkaczenko; his daughter Terry (nee Tkaczenko) Reilly, senior account executive for The Warwick Advertiser, and her husband Ken Reilly; his son Craig Viktor Tkaczenko and his wife Danielle (nee Massood) Tkaczenko; his three granddaughters, Kathryn Reilly and Jacqueline and Madison Tkaczenko; and nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by his parents Alexander and Julia Tkaczenko, his sister Clara (nee Tkaczenko) Shore, and his first wife, Elizabeth (nee Wershkoff) Tkaczenko.
Visitation: Wednesday, October 23, 2024, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services: Thursday, October 24, at 10 a.m. in the Chapel at the funeral home, then to Laurel Grove Cemetery in Totowa for burial.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Viktor Tkaczenko’s name to the Dementia Society of America at dementiasociety.org.