Reuben James Tkachuk

This family name is of Ukrainian origin and the informal American pronunciation drops the first letter to say kuh-CHUK. Reuben’s parents, James and Anna, were born in Russia and Poland, respectively, and they found each other in Philadelphia where they were married in 1923. 

They taught their children to love and serve God, and were active in the Russian Evangelical Baptist Church in Philadelphia. With the exception of a janitorial job during part of the Depression years, James had a long career as a polisher for the Lester Piano Company in Tinicum.

Their first child was Ruth, born in 1924, and the family lived on 82nd Street near the Municipal Airport that was built in 1927. The Tkachuks may have even seen the famous pilot, Charles Lindbergh, fly over them when he landed there that October as part of the dedication ceremony for the airport.  

Ruth’s high school class graduated in 1942, the third to do so from the new John Bartram High School, which is just a few blocks south of Mount Moriah Cemetery. Reuben registered for the draft on his 18th birthday in 1944, a few weeks before D-day and his own graduation.

It didn’t take long for Uncle Sam to let him know how much he was needed; Reuben was drafted on August 25 and served in Company I, 254th Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division, 7th Army. The 63rd arrived in the Alsace region of France in December, pushing into Mannheim and Heidelberg, Germany by the end of April and the end of the war.

Reuben died just one day after his 19th birthday, May 12, 1945 in France. He wasn’t killed in action so the Army used the classification, “died, non-battle” or DNB. Various events were included in that description, including accident, illness, homicide, or suicide, all occurring outside combat areas, but there are no other details about Reuben’s death. 

His body was buried in the Bourgogne region of France until three years later when it was returned home and reburied here on April 24, 1948. 

His military grave marker is to the right of the large family stone in Section D which also includes his inscription. Anna was buried there in 1968 and James in 1969. Ruth was buried with her husband at another cemetery after she died in 2023 at age 98.