Zirka Markewycz

Zirka Nadia Markewycz, 37, tragically passed away resulting from a back country hiking accident, on July 28, 2023, in Aspen, Colorado. Zirka was born on October 21, 1985, at Vassar Brothers Hospital in Poughkeepsie, NY. She spent her childhood growing up in Poughkeepsie and was a 2003 graduate of Our Lady of Lourdes High School. Zirka then attended SUNY Oneonta, where she was a member of the Varsity Tennis team and earned a Bachelor of Science, graduating in 2007. After graduation, Zirka began her career in New York City working in fashion merchandizing, a career that would take her to Miami, Florida and followed by San Francisco and Los Angeles, California. In 2020 Zirka put her career on pause and began travelling the United States, visiting numerous National Parks and a vast majority of the States. In 2022, Zirka expanded her wanderlust to Europe traveling throughout Western and Central Europe. Following her return to the United States, she settled in Aspen, Colorado finding her dream job that would enable her to balance her love of the outdoors while resuming her career. When Zirka was not busy travelling or advancing her career, she was an avid snowboarder, partook in and finished several ironman triathlons, was a devoted practitioner of yoga, mountain biking, sailing, and completed many of the nation’s most-challenging hikes often accompanied by her devoted and beloved dog, Pepper. Zirka through her numerous travels and various career stops met and grew a very close and loving network of friends and colleagues. Zirka will be remembered as one of the most charismatic, selfless, big-hearted, inquisitive minded, adventure-loving, and passionate people. Zirka is preceded in death by her maternal and paternal grandparents (Oksana and Wolodymyr Lenec, Paulina and Michajlo Markewycz). Zirka is survived by her parents, Zwen and Zenon, brother Zenon Jr (wife Katie), nephew Michael, along with several loving aunts, uncles, and cousins living throughout the US and Canada. A wake in her memory will be held on Tuesday, August 15, 2023 from 2-5 pm at Humiston Funeral Home in Kerhonkson, New York. A funeral service will be held in her honor at Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Kerhonkson, New York on Wednesday, August 16, 2023 at 11 am. A private family burial will immediately follow. In-lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made in her name to the Dutchess County SPCA.