A longtime resident of Concord who lived a full and beautiful life passed away on December 11 at the age of 95. Eugene Yaroslav Moroz was born to Ukrainian immigrant parents Peter and Mary Moroz on August 30, 1929. The young family lived in the Highland Park neighborhood of Roxbury, proudly maintaining their Ukrainian heritage while adopting the culture of their new life in America.
After graduating from Boston English High School at age 16, Eugene joined the United States Coast Guard and started his training just as World War II was ending. As a LORAN (LOng RAnge Navigation – modern GPS) technician, Eugene was stationed on the private Hawaiian Island of Niihau, guiding U.S. military ships across the Pacific Ocean.
After his military service, Eugene attended Boston University and, upon graduation, accepted a position with The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (the precursor to NASA).
In 1953, Eugene married his childhood sweetheart, Olga Petreyko. The young couple started their lives in Newport News, Virginia, where Eugene began his career as an engineer with the Mercury space program at Langley Air Force Base.
In 1960, Eugene and Olga returned to Massachusetts with their growing family and settled in Concord. Eugene was employed at Hanscom Air Force Base, where he developed weather-related instrumentation systems used in airports around the globe, such as laser-based ceilometers to determine cloud height and transmissometers to calculate visual range in fog.
Eugene and Olga planned an early retirement so they could travel and experience the many countries and cultures of the world. From the ancient temples of Japan to the verdant Lakes District of England, from the impressionist colonies of Provence, across the Moroccan deserts by camelback, the world was indeed their oyster. They were life-long parishioners and choir members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Boston. They shared a love for painting, photography, music and singing. Eugene possessed an especially affecting bass voice and performed in many concerts, weddings and theatre productions.
In his youth, he shined shoes on the street corners of Roxbury for five cents; he was a regular moviegoer after ‘talkies’ first appeared; he was a loyal Boston Braves fan and an avid L Street Brownie. More recently, Eugene was a member of the Concord Art Association, the Concord Armchair Traveler and president of the Concord Photo Print Club.
Eugene and Olga were the loving parents of Eugenia of Pepperell, Roberta of Kamuela, Hawaii, Lisa of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Andrea of Santa Rosa Beach, Flordia, John of Dedham, and Stephen of Concord, with love and affection for spouses, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren and his dogs Koko and Miko.
Eugene led a full and interesting life. He had a ready smile and an infectious laugh. He regularly spoke to strangers with a friendly hello. He had a zest for living and found beauty all around him.
Visiting hours are from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, December 20, at the Brady & Fallon Funeral Home, 10 Tower Street, Jamaica Plain. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, December 21, at St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 24 Orchard Hill Road, Jamaica Plain. Relatives and friends may visit with Eugene’s family from 9-10 a.m. Interment will be at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
Donations in Eugene’s memory can be made to the charity of your choice to aid and support Ukraine.
