Memorable Manitobans: Victor Deneka (1921-2010)

Architect.

Born in Samarkand (now Uzbekistan) on 25 June 1921, his secondary education took place in Western Ukraine and the State Grammar School at Cholm, Western Ukraine. He studied architecture at the Technical University of Carolo-Wilhelmina at Brunswick, Germany as a result of a scholarship awarded by the British military government for the British Zone of Germany. After immigrating to Canada with his parents and brother in 1949, he attended the University of Manitoba and obtained a Bachelor of Architecture in 1952. He was a member of the Manitoba Association of Architects and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. He was the regional architect for the Prairie Region of the Canadian National Railways and he also designed buildings in private practice, specializing in Ukrainian Catholic churches.

He helped to organize congresses that led to the creation of the student organizations Obnova and Ukrainian Canadian University Students’ Union. He served as President of the Obnova Alumni Society, President of the Archeparchial Executive of the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood of Canada, President of the Ukrainian Catholic Council of the Winnipeg Archeparchy, National President of the Ukrainian Catholic Council of Canada, and an honorary director of the Catholic Foundation of Manitoba. He was a member of the Board of Directors for the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko, a member of the Ukrainian Professional and Business Club of Winnipeg, Secretary of the Ukrainian Literary and Arts Club of Winnipeg, and President of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences. In recognition of his community service, he was inducted into the Order of St. Gregory the Great (1983) and the Order of St. Vladimir the Great.

He died at Winnipeg on 3 April 2010 and was buried in All Saints Cemetery. His papers were deposited in the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Consistory Building, Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy	Winnipeg	?
Plast Ukrainian Youth Association Building	Winnipeg	?
Ukrainian Fraternal Society of Canada Building	Winnipeg	?
Christ the King Ukrainian Catholic Church [renovation]	Logan Avenue, Winnipeg	1950
Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church	965 Boyd Avenue, Winnipeg	1961-1962
St. Basil the Great Ukrainian Catholic Church	202 Harcourt Street, Winnipeg	1963
Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church	319 Sixth Street, Beausejour	1964
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church	Russell, Municipality of Russell-Binscarth	1965
Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church	78 First Street, The Pas	1972
Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary	First Street NW, Portage la Prairie	1982
St. Anne’s Ukrainian Catholic Church	35 Marcie Street, Winnipeg	1984
St. Vladimir’s College Gymnasium	Roblin, Municipality of Roblin	1986
Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Resurrection	801 Jackson Street, Dauphin	1990

Sources:

Fifty Steps Forward - The 50th Anniversary of St. Vladimir’s College, 1991, page 178.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 6 April 2010.

We thank Frances Kasper, Gloria Romaniuk, and George Penner for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 5 August 2019

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!