St. Anthony Village, MN - Stephen Pawlyshyn, beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, died peacefully on January 7, 2026 at the age of 89. A fifty-eight year resident of St. Anthony Village, Minnesota, Steve will be remembered for his generous spirit, love of family, top-notch soccer skills and his Hulk Hogan-like grip. Steve was born in the village of Zhyznomyr, in the Buchach district of the Ternopil oblast of Ukraine in 1936. During World War II, with Stalin coming from one way and Hitler from the other, Steve's parents had to flee Ukraine. They spent several years in refugee camps in Nordhausen and Mannheim, Germany. Eventually, when their area of Germany was liberated by the Americans, Steve, his parents, siblings, grandma and many aunts, uncles and cousins ended up in North America. Steve's parents, Walter and Maria and their six children were sponsored by a farmer in Louisiana. However, when the ship arrived at port in New Orleans, the sponsoring farmer did not show up. The captain of the ship said to them: "We have one more stop in Savannah, Georgia. I'll see if I can find somebody there to take you." The captain found a cotton farmer to sponsor them. For his support, they would work on the cotton farm for two years. Somehow, without modern technologies (e.g., Google, cell phones, AI...), Steve's parents were able to connect with relatives in Minneapolis, specifically Steve's dad's brother, Michael Pawlyszyn. They decided to send their daughter Katherine to Minneapolis to see if it would be a good fit for the family. After getting Katherine's approval, the rest of the family made their way to Minneapolis. Steve settled into Sheriden Junior High and eventually went to Marshall University High School in southeast Minneapolis. Steve developed a love for soccer in Germany where he played with much older kids and adults and quickly earned a reputation for being a great ball handler. His passion for soccer continued with him to Minnesota where he played with the Tigers, Kyiv Soccer Club and Ukrainian Soccer Club (USC), winning more than 12 championships in the top men's league. Later, and well into his 40s and early 50s, he played several years with the St. Paul Blackhawks. Steve was also a youth soccer coach, and at some point, coached all five of his sons and many of their friends. He also started the first youth soccer program in St. Anthony Village. Steve was inducted into the Minnesota Soccer Hall of Fame. In his younger years, Steve also had a passion for nice cars and fast cars, earning himself several speeding tickets and a visit to the judge. Steve also enjoyed fishing and had a collection of over 500 fishing rods. He loved watching the Minnesota North Stars and Wild. In his 30s and 40s, he loved playing broomball and, in his early 50s, Steve ran several Twin Cities and Grandma's marathons. Steve spent about 45 years as a bricklayer. He didn't want any of his five sons to have to work so hard and reminded them regularly that they needed a college degree with each of them graduating from the University of St. Thomas. In 1957, Steve met the love of his life, Ann Konopliv. In their more than 67 years of marriage, Steve and Ann enjoyed walking together, going to garage sales, playing league volleyball and kittenball, fishing, cross-country skiing, having wine and drinks (aka "juice") with friends and traveling to Calgary, Mexico and Florida. Steve is survived by his wife Ann, daughter-in-law Terry, sons Paul (Sue), Steve (Renee), Bill (Sharon), John (Marcy) as well as thirteen grandchildren: Matty (Ahna), Natalie (Bennett); Madison (Nate), Hannah (Brennan), Grace; Max (Tara), Sophie, Marko; Whitney, Emily and Carson; Ben and Lauren; and four great grandchildren Brody and Riley; Harrison; Miles. He's also survived by sister Sally Pawlyshyn Gallagher (Tom), sisters-in-law Barb Pawlyshyn, Mary Pawlyshyn and Nettie Konopliv, several cousins, many nieces and nephews and some great friends and neighbors in St. Anthony Village. Steve is preceded in death by his son Wally Pawlyshyn, parents, Walter and Maria Pawlyshyn, in-laws Ivan and Tania Konopliv, sisters Olga Pawlyshyn Lozowy and Katherine Pawlyshyn Papirchuk, brothers Mike Pawlyshyn and Bill Pawlyshyn, brothers-in-law Walter Papirchuk, Nick Konopliv and Walter Konopliv and sister-in-law Margie Konopliv. The funeral service will be held on Tuesday January 13 at St. Constantine Ukrainian Catholic Church, 10 am visitation and 11 am prayer service. Tributes to Stephen will occur at the luncheon, following the service.

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