1966

scmintern@scu.edu

Basil Iwashyna MBA ’66 was born in 1939 in the small farming village of Bakumivka in Poltavs’ka Oblast, Ukraine. During World War II, his family was taken to Germany as “Ostarbeiter.” His father was forced to work on the railroad and his mother in a military laundry. After the fall of Germany, he lived with his family in Hamburg-Fischbeck Displaced Persons Camp. The USS General S.D. Sturgis sailed from Bremerhaven on Sept 21, 1949, with the family and other refugees. Ten-year-old Basil arrived in New York on Oct. 21, 1949. He graduated from Ballston Spa High School in 1957 and would go on to graduate Phi Beta Kappa from Lafayette College in 1961 with a degree in electrical engineering. He inculcated a deep commitment to education and learning in his children. Basil began his career in computers with General Electric in 1961. He had positions of increasing managerial responsibility with IBM, RCA, Sperry, and Unisys. He later changed careers to join LILCO and then Utilicorp, where he helped create environmentally friendly energy products. He was fortunate to have travelled the world for business and pleasure. At age 78, Basil passed away on July 14, 2018, after many months with pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Eileen; and his three sons, Theodore (Jack) Iwashyna and his wife, Stefanie, and their three children; Brian J. Iwashyna and his wife, Tiffany, and their daughter; and Scott J. Iwashyna and his wife, Alex, and their three children. He could not have been prouder or loved his family more, and he deeply valued the time he spent with his grandchildren.

08 Nov 2018