City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Joseph Michalczyk
Raleigh, North Carolina
Age 100.
Died 12/17/2025.
As the child of emigrants from Ukraine, Joseph was a devoted member of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. In 1949, at a church dance, he met the love of his life, Vera Galamaga. “I just found myself moving toward her,” he said. In 1951, Joseph and Vera were married, finding a place to live in a Philadelphia suburb. From 1957 to 1967, they welcomed five children: Andrea, Carol (married to Tony), Maria (Dan), John (Ariadne), and Vera (Dave). Eventually, Joseph and Vera welcomed eight grandchildren (Tony, Joe, Alexandra, Danny, Julia, Christopher, Nicholas, and Thomas) and two great-grandchildren (Evelyn and Anthony). This past May (2025), Joseph lost his beloved wife Vera, after 73 years of marriage.
Always central to Joseph’s life were not only his family and his art, but also his church and devotion to God. As early members of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a church just outside of Philadelphia, Joseph and his wife were active parishioners. Throughout their lives, they taught their family to appreciate the beauty of the Ukrainian traditions, and they showed them the importance of a close, cherished family. As a father, Joseph is lovingly remembered for his strong work ethic, his sense of humor (“Dad” jokes), and his love of tinkering with radios. Along with those, he had a great love of music, especially Bing Crosby and Big Band music, which he listened to quietly, often while painting. Always an artist, he painted landscapes, images of homes and pets, and his grandchildren’s portraits, frequently taking photos to capture beauty that he could render onto paper. Even when he was no longer able to do art with his hands, he painted in his mind, closing his eyes and imagining how he would create a scene. In his quiet, gentle way, Joseph beautified the lives of many and the world around him.
He died on December 17, 2025, surrounded by family, in his daughter’s home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he had moved to spend his final months. He is deeply missed by his family, but his loving heart and his faith in God have been a comfort to us all.
Vichnaya pamyat!
(May his memory be eternal!)
Services for Joseph will be held by his family at a future time.
Donations in memory of Joseph Michalczyk can be made to HEALING OF WOUNDS OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE FUND.
https://ukrcatholic.org/offices-and-ministries/healing-of-wounds-of-the-war-in-ukraine-fund
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$1596.75
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation with a private family viewing. A private family viewing allows up to 10 immediate family members or friends to spend time with a loved one when a public visitation is not preferred.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.