Leskow, Anna

Birth

Anna Leskow was born Dec. 14, 1892 in Ukraine, the last survivor of an enclave of Ukrainians who settled in the Hilltowns after immigrating early in the century. Her siblings were:

• Paul Leskow

Occupation

Anna Leskow and Peter Zuk operated a dairy farm at the intersection of Bradt Hollow and High Point roads, now known as Zuk's Corners, from 1926 to 1938. The year the state bought the farm as part of the Partridge Run state game management area, and the Zuks moved to a farm on Youngs Road in Duanesburg.

They retired from farming in 1952, and moved to Curry Road in 1954. Anna Zuk maintained her home and indulged her love of gardening - on better land than she had ever farmed, her grandson said - and cooking.

Marriage & Children

Anna Leskow married Peter Zuk. Their children were:

• Paul Zuk of Berne
• Stephanis Youmans of Rexford

Death

Anna Leskow Zuk, 99, formerly of Berne and Duanseburg, died October 23, 1992, in the Glenville Nursing Home.

Obituary

Anna Leskow Zuk Obituary - Altamont Enterprise — October 29, 1992

Anna Leskow Zuk

BERNE - Anna Leskow Zuk, 99, formerly of Berne and Duanseburg, died Oct. 23 (1992) in the Glenville Nursing Home. Born Dec. 14, 1892 in Ukraine, she was the last survivor of an enclave of Ukrainians who settled in the Hilltowns after immigrating early in the century.

Anna Leskow came to Ellis Island in 1908 with her brother Paul. She was 16, but had "Exaggerated" her age, as her grandson, Berne Supervisor Alan Zuk, put it.

She married Peter Zuk, and the couple came north to Berne, where they operated a dairy farm at the intersection of Bradt Hollow and High Point roads, now known as Zuk's Corners, from 1926 to 1938. The year the state bought the farm as part of the Partridge Run state game management area, and the Zuks moved to a farm on Youngs Road in Duanesburg.

They retired from farming in 1952, and moved to Curry Road in 1954. Anna Zuk maintained her home and indulged her love of gardening - on better land than she had ever farmed, her grandson said - and cooking.

"I can remember home-made Ukrainian dishes," Alan Zuk says, "almost impossible to find, or even name any more. As long as her health was good, even within five years, she mad those things." In her 90s, failing health resulted in a long hospital stay and eventual confinement in the nursing home.

Zuk remembers his grandmother as strictly practical, all unnecessary, adornment scoured from her life by the hardships that had driven her from Ukraine and the hardships she endured on a stony farm here.

"There was lots of hand labor, lots of canning, preparing, all kinds of had-type work," Alan Zuk said. "Everything she did was practical. THe wasn't a motion made that didn't have a purpose, whether it was preparing her garden, mending a sweater, or making pickles. Nothing was thrown away. Eveything was used in some fashion. Sheets and washcloths went down to something else. She survived World War I, World War II, and the Depression. It stuck with her; it was part of her. Everything she did she had a reason for doing. It was all work; she was a hard-working lady."

On the other hand, Zuk always looked forward to the week in the summer he spent at his grandparents' farm. "I'm sure we got away with things with Grandma that we couldn't with Mom," he said.

Survivors include a son, Paul Zuk of Berne; a daughter, Stephanis Youmans of Rexford; her grandson, Alan; two grand daughters, Joan Pearson of Scotia and Marilyn Warner of Wilton, N. H.; and four great grandchildren - Stephanie and Laura Zuk, and Jonathan and Christopher Pearson.

The Order for Burial of the Dead was read Monday at Baxter Funeral Home, Shenectady. Burial was in Parkview Cemetery, Schenectady.

Memorial contributions may be made tot he Glenville Nursing Home, Hatcheltown Road, Glenville, NY 12303 - B. B.

Altamont Enterprise - October 29, 1992

Additional Media

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