Pavel Radchuk influenced many lives through church

Pavel Radchuk, an associate pastor in the 2,600-member Slavic Gospel Church in Federal Way, was a prominent and well-liked spiritual leader.

"He was very kindly. All the people from young to older, they love him," said his wife, Svetlana Radchuk, speaking through an interpreter. She added that sometimes he had difficulty leaving the church after a service because so many people wanted to chat.

But Mr. Radchuk's influence extended far beyond his congregation, judging from the several thousand mourners who turned out for funeral services Sunday and Monday. He died in an airplane crash in Alaska on Aug. 8. He was 41.

As president of the Slavic International Association of Ministries Good Samaritan, Mr. Radchuk, who lived in Renton, was always looking for creative ways to bring food, clothing, Bibles and the word of God wherever he thought they were needed. Those places included his native Ukraine, Argentina, Germany and Chukotka, a remote part of northeastern Russia.

He seemed fearless in pursuit of his missionary work. On several occasions he became lost in Chukotka. Sometimes these ordeals lasted for days, in blizzard conditions, with temperatures far below zero.

It was while investigating a new form of transportation for traveling in Chukotka that Mr. Radchuk's life ended.

He had led a busload of young people to Alaska on a crusading trip, arriving in Delta Junction, 86 miles southeast of Fairbanks. They were visiting friends, Peter Morozov and his wife, who had a large plot of land, horses and 16 children.

Morozov gave rides to members of the group in his two-person ultralight aircraft powered by a snowmobile engine. Mr. Radchuk peppered Morozov with questions about how a plane like this might assist in doing missionary work in Chukotka. Intrigued, Mr. Radchuk put on a helmet and strapped himself into the passenger seat.

But as the plane lofted into the sky, a wing suddenly collapsed, dropping the plane into a field and killing both men.

Mr. Radchuk was born in Zozov, in western Ukraine. His father was a Christian at a time when communists actively discouraged practicing religion. He taught his sons how to preach; the young Mr. Radchuk gave his first sermon at 12. Such was his zeal that, just before Christmas one year, he went into the town to sing carols, was arrested and spent two weeks in jail.

Mr. Radchuk emigrated to the United States in 1994.

After Mr. Radchuk's death, the eldest of his seven children, Sergei, 12, tried to console his weeping mother.

"Don't cry," he said to her. "I will take care of all the family now."

"The older children think he went to God, to sky," his widow said. "They miss him. They love him very much."

Mr. Radchuk's other survivors include his sons David, 11, Pavel, 7, Daniel, 5, and Arthur Radchuk, 3; daughters, Angela, 9, and Yuliya Radchuk, 10, all of Renton; his father, Vitaliy Radchuk, and stepmother, Nataliya Radchuk, both of Auburn; brothers, Slavik, Vasiliy and Viktar Radchuk of Atlanta, and Peter and Yuriy Radchuk of Federal Way; and sisters, Ludmilla Rudnev and Tafyana Rimaruk of Kent.

Memorials may be made to the Pavel Radchuk family, P.O. Box 24026, Federal Way, WA 98023.