Interview Essay - John Tymkiw - 844 Words

Interview Essay - John Tymkiw John Tymkiw was born in the Ukraine on June 10, 1913. WWI broke out a year after he was born, and he lived through the Depression while Hitler and Stalin were fighting. When the Ukraine was signed over to Russian rule, many left, but John stayed and ran a cooperative association supply company. He came to America in 1951, through a sponsor in Chicago and then traveled to California in 1957. He was married in 1962, and had no children of his own, but had two-step children. He continued his life working in machinery and carpentry. He now lives alone in his condo in Laguna Woods, surrounded by his artwork and accomplishments. John defines happiness as a feeling that does not have anything to do with†¦show more content†¦As a child, John did not possess many material goods, which made him value them more properly. Also, when he was young, he was praised for his ability to fix things. He was very handy, and visitors would always praise him on all he could do. John finished 7th grade in Ukraine, then attended a University in Munich, Germany for two years, until the school closed due to a lack of funds. He continued school later and finished three semesters studying National Economics and Business Management. John had two brothers and two sisters. He said that his fondest memories are of sharing Christmas and Easter time with them. There are many things in his life that he is proud of, but most of all, he is proud of being able to manage a complex business under difficult circumstances without proper education. He is also proud of being able to learn how to create several different forms of art in such a short period of time. He mentions that he is proud of being a strong believer in Christianity. John believes that there is definitely a relationship between love and happiness. He left home at the age of seventeen, so his family did not contribute a lot to his happiness, but he says that his marriage definitely did. When asked, is it really better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all, John replied that on one side, if you never loved, you never know if