Romana, who usually preferred to be called “Roma,” was born Romana Skorobohata in Zhydachiv, Ukraine. During World War II, her family left Ukraine rather than live under Soviet dictatorship, and she spent the war years in what is now Sanok, Poland, and in Vienna, Austria. After the war, Roma lived in Schärding, Austria, for several years. In 1948, her family came to America and settled in New York City.

Roma earned an A.A. in Applied Science from the State University of New York at Morrisville in 1958 and a B.A. in Psychology from Michigan State University in 1961. She held a variety of jobs, including teaching public school in New York City, working as a fitness instructor for Elaine Powers Figure Salon in East Hartford, Connecticut, and serving as an administrative assistant for the Wehrenberg movie theater chain in St. Louis.

In 1962, Roma married Ireneus Harasymiak, with whom she had two sons, Andrei and Denys. Between 1967 and 1997, she lived in the Hartford, Connecticut; St. Louis, Missouri; Atlanta, Georgia; and Toronto, Ontario areas. She moved to Venice in 1997. After Ireneus died in 2000, Roma was married to Bohdan Guran from 2005 until his death in 2020.

During her years in Florida, Roma was very active in the local Ukrainian-American community. She served as head of the Ukrainian Community Council, was a longtime member and secretary of Branch 56 of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, and was a parishioner of St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in North Port. She had also been very active in Plast, the Ukrainian-American scouting organization.

Roma is survived by her son, Andrei Harasymiak; her son, Denys Harasymiak, and his wife, Rebecca Mills, and their son, Patrick; her sister, Tamara Skorobohata; her nieces, Renata Gomez and Katrina Martin, and their children; and her nephews, Steven Harasymiak, Oleh Stecyk, Markian Stecyk, and Adrian Stecyk, and their children and grandchildren.

Donations in Roma’s memory may be made to:

Ukrainian National Women’s League of America – Branch 56c/o Victoria Lukasevich / 6243 Tedder Street / Port Charlotte, FL  33981

The Ukrainian Museum222 East 6th Street / New York, NY  10003

St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church1078 North Biscayne Drive / North Port, FL  34291