Oleg Wilson and Katherine Berdnikoff

Oleg Wilson (1923–2004)

and

Katherine Berdnikoff (1926-2021)

— compiled from the notes of Dr. Katherine Berdnikoff and Sister Stephanie (Smith), Montréal (edited).

About Oleg Wilson : birth in exile

Oleg Wilson was born on 7 October, 1923, in Poland, to Iakov (Jacques) Wilson and Olga Wilsona (born Lichvenko) where his parents, having fled from Russia and the Bolshevik revolution, had found temporary refuge from the onslaught of the Bolsheviks.

His family history and values made up a strong basis for his character. His paternal grandfather, a senator in Saint Petersburg (Russian Empire), had placed his father in the famous "Corps des Pages", founded by the Empress Elizabeth in 1759. Many of Russia’s most famous intellectuals, artists, and statesmen had come from this school.

The revolution tore him out of it, and into the turmoil and loss of everything except the traditions and memories of family and country.

Oleg met his future wife in Poland and, together with their newborn Oleg, they fled to France. Penniless, they settled in villages in the south of France. Oleg’s father, remembering the idyllic life on the family estate, and hoping to achieve success in farming, gave Oleg a passionate distaste for all farm work and a vivid memory of hunger, winters with ice on the wall beside whatever passed for his bed, and the absence of even "outdoor plumbing" – all of these memories without a trace of bitterness. On the contrary, there was always the overwhelming consciousness of his father’s behaviour with everyone – rich or poor, erudite or illiterate, welcoming all with his courtly manner and a sharp sense of humour – all of which Oleg inherited fully.

The family lived in abject poverty, and they nevertheless hosted people – true, about as poor as themselves – such as Father Gregory Kroug (the well-known iconographer), and Father Leonid Chrol (a French resistance fighter for whom a street is named in Montauban in southern France).

Spending some time in Paris, France, Oleg met Mother (now Saint) Maria (Skobtsova), because his father’s sister lived with her for some time in her refuge and remained friends with her. This is some of the background which formed Oleg, known later to all for his extraordinarily kindness and for being a gentle model of Orthodox Christian behaviour.

Sister Stephanie (Smith), who served as secretary for the parish of "The Sign of the Theotokos" in Montréal, Québec, wrote :

While Oleg was eighty, and we all knew this could happen at any time [...] it [his repose] still
came as a big blow [...] particularly to me. For many, many years Oleg served as the Treasurer
of The Sign. He wrote most of the program code for the database program that we use for our
finances. When I was elected the Treasurer for two years (1999-2000), he spent many long hours
teaching me the system and answering my many questions. He took over again as Treasurer in 2001
until this year when I once again was elected. As before, I leaned on him strongly for guidance
and help, calling him once or twice a week with a conversation that usually began with me saying,
‘Hi Oleg, HELP !’ He would chuckle and ask what my question was, and patiently help me understand
what to do. He was my teacher, mentor and security blanket [...] even when I thought I knew what
to do, I always felt better running things past him to get his opinion and support. He was a man
of very few words, but he had the most gentle and kind soul that I’ve ever known. He never
complained about anything, but just quietly and patiently helped out whenever he could.

The very first time I ever visited ‘The Sign’ back in 1991, it was Oleg’s wife, Katherine Berdnikoff,
who first greeted me and made me feel at home. Ever since, she and Oleg have taken me under their wing.
Though they live on Nun’s Island, they always gave me rides home, even though I am quite far out of
their way.

Marriage, 1948 ; move to Canada, 1952

Oleg met his first wife, Paulette Lecointe, in Paris, France, where she had been born on 13 February, 1924.

They were married in 1948 in France, where the first 2 children (Catherine and Elisabeth) were born.

Move to Canada

The family moved to Canada in 1952, and the other children soon came along (Nathalie, Alexander, Marina, Andrew and Michael).

They settled in Montréal, Québec.

Oleg found fascinating work as a product engineer at the CAE (Canadian Aviation Electronics).

They became parishioners at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Montréal, Québec. There, their children were further formed in their Faith.

Bereavement for Oleg, 1986

In January, 1986, Oleg's wife Paulette died tragically and unexpectedly.

Sudden bereavement is even more painful than expected bereavement.

About Katherine Berdnikoff

On 14 February, 1926, Oleg’s second wife, Dr. Katherine Berdnikoff (born Golubyatnikoff), was born in Shanghai, China, where she had all her formative education. Her parents, Vasily Golubyantnikoff and Zoya Golubyatnikova (born Lavova) had arrived there from Russia as refugees following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 in Russia.

Katherine graduated from "L’Aurore" University as a Doctor of Medicine.

It is useful to recall that, at that time, Saint John of Shanghai was the local Bishop of Shanghai, and that Katya and her family would have been part of the flock he led, including during the mass-emigration after the installation of Communism in 1949.

Married to her first husband, George Berdnikoff, she emigrated to Canada with him and their 2 sons Andrew and Michael in 1951.

They settled in Montréal, Québec, and they proceeded to establish themselves as physicians there.

George Berdnikoff was a physician, whose speciality was anatomical pathology. He eventually established a clinic in Longueuil, Montréal, when he had become certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Québec. This clinic was related to the Pierre-Boucher Hospital in Longueil.

Katherine began working at Sainte Justine’s Hospital. She was certified as a paediatrician in 1956 by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

In 1958, she was admitted to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Québec.

Dr. Berdnikoff then became a member of the medical staff of Sainte Justine's Hospital.

From 1964-1966, she became the chief of the Department of Paediatrics at l’Hôpital Mont Providence.

From 1966-1971, she served in the health service of Montréal Nord, and from 1967, she served as the pediatrician attached to the "Centre d’Accueil Notre Dame du perpétuel Secours".

From 1972 to 1974, Dr. Berdnikoff was the paediatrician in charge of the health of children at the Children’s Mountain Cottage Convalescent Hospital.

Katherine was then appointed to serve on the Board of Directors of the Jewish General Hospital as a member and contributor.

She served much beyond these early responsibilities, and always with a particular concern for battered children. On a site that allows for comments about physicians, this gratitude appears :

 She is the best pediatrician ever and I wish that she could practice close to my grand kids now.  She 
 remembers every detail of each kid.

Soon after this, both Dr. George and Dr. Katherine Berdnikoff became founders of "Sign of the Theotokos Church" in Montréal, in which parish she served as a member of the parish council, and as the Warden.

Later on, during the 1980s, certain circumstances developed which made it too difficult for George and Katherine to live together further, and so they separated and divorced.

Bereavement, 1990

On Sunday, 14 October, 1990, Dr. George Berdnikoff fell asleep in the Lord.

On Monday, 15 October, 1990, at 7:30 p.m., a Panikhida (Memorial Service) was served in the Blythe Bernier Funeral Chapel by Archpriest John Tkachuk.

On Tuesday, 16 October, 1990, at 9:00 a.m., the Funeral Services for the Burial of a Lay-person were served at the Sign of the Theotokos Orthodox Church in Montréal, by Archpriest John Tkachuk.

After the completion of the funeral service, his body was transported to the Saint Seraphim Russian Orthodox Cemetery in Rawdon, Québec.

Marriage of Oleg and Katherine, 1988

Before the repose of her previous husband, Katherine and Oleg had found one another (in 1988), and they were convinced that they were compatible.

In the Orthodox Christian Church, there are various steps which must be taken before a second marriage can be blessed. Amongst these is securing the agreement first of the parish priest (Archpriest John Tkachuk), and then of the bishop that the second marriage could last. This, they did.

Oleg and Katya

With the blessing of the bishop, they were married at the Sign of the Theotokos Curch in Montréal on 18 December, 1988.

About Oleg, his wife Katherine wrote :

 In the summer of 1988, observing this seemingly shy and very distinguished man who had nowhere to go for the 
 summer vacation, I picked up my courage and invited him to my cottage in Labelle.  He fitted in so beautifully 
 with the Russian community there : common memories and family values, even some relatives in the ‘Corps des 
 Pages’, and cavalry songs that they all knew and cherished.  He then became a fixture of ‘our Sign’, fixing 
 anything that needed to be repaired, without being asked to do so : electrical problems, plumbing disasters, 
 frayed tempers of Parish Council Members – any problem brought a cry of ‘Oleg, HELP !’ and the problem was 
 solved.  Often this happened without the cry for help.  I remember coming to ‘the Sign’ one evening with Oleg, 
 who blushed as he found a note stuck to the door handle of our coffee room : ‘Thank you to whoever fixed 
 this ! Masha’.  ‘She noticed’, he said, for he had repaired the door handle which had been stuck for some 
 time.

Dr. Berdnikoff adds that the members of "The Sign" did not know that Oleg had a similar role in the functioning of their condominium and its administration. People who had locked themselves out of their apartments at midnight or at 8 o'clock in the morning would phone plaintively : “Monsieur Wilson [...]”., and Monsieur Wilson would get up and dig out the spare keys in the basement locker and rescue them with a grin. When he died, their fellow condominium-dwellers hugged Katherine through their tears and said, “Nous avons perdu notre ‘sage’”. She is not quite sure what they meant – that they had lost “our wise one ?” “our elder ?” – but he certainly was those things to them.

Just as parishioners of “The Sign” knew nothing of Oleg’s role in the condominium, so neither did they (nor his children) know that over 25 years ago, he had lent the money that had helped a very idealistic but financially strapped man found the now very eminent Collège Charlemagne. He also stayed on its board of directors ; and at his retirement, they held a banquet in his honour. Their wreath remained long on his grave.

Since his arrival in Montréal, Oleg had worked for the Canadian Aviation Electronics (CAE Inc.), where he enjoyed immensely the challenge of solving the problems that had never existed before : the construction of flight simulators. This also entailed helping to train people from all over the world : Russians, Moroccans, Italians, Egyptians, French, people from Algiers and Zaire – and being sent to some of their countries to help to install the simulators in place. His remarkable knowledge of English, French, and Russian, as well as his talent as a mediator, were invaluable in his negotiations with governments, companies and the various air forces involved with the simulators that he had helped to build : Boeing 737, the Concorde, and very many others.

On a very personal note, Dr. Berdnikoff wrote :

 When I met Oleg, I had been separated for a number of years from my first husband, George.  George had been 
 very ill with depressions and then, finally, cancer, and had by then no one to look after him.  Oleg and I 
 brought him to his residence on one occasion, and he was terrified at the idea of staying there alone in his 
 room.  I refused his plea to stay with him, but Oleg looked thoughtful for a second and then said quietly : 
 ‘Katya, you go home ; I will stay with George’.  When George died, Oleg came with me and led me through all 
 the difficult and necessary steps to give him a dignified burial.

Oleg, together with Katherine, were deeply involved in the parish life of the Sign of the Theotokos Church in Montréal. They both served in official positions in the parish council, and in the social activities of the parish. Moreover, they were very much like an uncle and aunt to many of the parishioners.

Repose of Oleg, 2004

On Saturday, 26 June, 2004, parishioners of 2 somewhat-related parish communities were serving the funeral services for beloved parishioners. In Ottawa, Ontario, at the Annunciation to the Theotokos-Saint Nicholas Cathedral, the parishioners were singing Mother Dorofea (Mirochnitchenko) to her grave. In Montréal, Québec, the parishioners of The Sign of the Theotokos Church were singing to his grave one of that parish’s most beloved members, Oleg Wilson, who fell asleep in the Lord on 22 June, after having succumbed to the last of a series of heart-attacks.

On Tuesday, 22 June, 2004, Oleg Wilson fell asleep in the Lord in Montréal, Québec.

On Friday evening, 25 June, 2004, at 7:00 p.m., the Funeral Service for the Burial of a Layman was offered at The Sign of the Theotokos Orthodox Church (750, Saint Joseph Blvd. East, in Montréal) by Archpriest John Tkachuk and others.

On Saturday morning, 26 June, 2004, at 9:30 a.m., the Divine Liturgy for the Departed was served by Archpriest John Tkachuk and others at The Sign of the Theotokos Orthodox Church in Montréal.

After the completion of the funeral services, Oleg's body was interred at the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montréal.

Dr. Berdnikoff concludes :

 Father John Tkachuk said at Oleg’s funeral that we should pray for Oleg, but also to him – and some of our 
 friends and my son have reported that the problems that bothered them hopelessly had suddenly cleared up when 
 they silently called out ‘Oleg !’  As Father John, quoting many people, also said : ‘He was a gentleman and a 
 gentle man.  May his beloved memory be eternal !’

Katherine's further service

In addition to her presence in the parish from its foundation, Katherine was one amongst many physicians in her parish. One of these, who came a little later, was eventually to become the Archpriest Cyprian R A Hutcheon.

Katherine Berdnikoff continued to work as she had before until it was truly time for her to retire. Notably, she retired officially at the age of 82 in 2008. Regardless, she remained as before vigorously and compassionately involved in a variety of causes. Always she sought to nurture a more equitable society that maintains respect for human and animal rights.

After retirement, she remained for a time in her apartment in Montréal, and when it became too difficult to live alone, she moved to an assisted-living facility.

Katherine

Repose of Katherine, 2021

On 9 September, 2021, Katherine Berdnikoff Wilson fell asleep in the Lord in Montréal, Québec. Her repose occurred during the time of restrictions on gatherings that surrounded the Covid-19 Pandemic.

On 24 September, 2021, the Funeral Services for the Burial of a Lay-person were offered for her at The Sign of the Theotokos Church in Montréal by Archpriest Paul Kara and Archpriest Gregory Nimijean. Because of the restrictions, the service was limited to family.

Following the funeral obsequies, Katherine's body was interred at the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montréal.

Reflections

Both Oleg and Katherine experienced a great many difficulties in their lives, and their personalities were quite different. Nevertheless, later in life they found one another, and they were given the Grace to love and to support one another. This support was not merely in the sense of practical day-to-day living, but it was deeper. They had a mutual love for the Lord, for other people, for serving the Lord both in the Church and in the lives of people. It was this mutual love for God which sustained them.

They were both practical persons in distinct ways, in accordance with their personal, God-given talents. Yet this practicality was not dry. It was alive with love and care. Thus, they both were loved and respected in their parish family, and amongst others who knew them.