Orest was born on April 9, 1935 in Poland. He was the son of Harasym and Julia Lysak, who both hailed from Ukraina. The small family emigrated to Canada in November 1948 when Orest was thirteen years old.

The family settled in Toronto and Orest joined the junior ranks of the Toronto Ukrainia soccer club. He progressed into being the number one goalkeeper for the Ukes.

The great goalkeeper starred for Ukrainia in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Orest remained with the Toronto Ukrainians until the end of the 1968 season. He passed away on March 10, 2020 in York, Ontario, Canada.