Sister Mary John Semon, OSB, a member of the Benedictine Sisters of the Byzantine Church at Queen of Heaven Monastery in Warren, Ohio, died after a short illness on December 20, 2012 at The Assumption Village in North Lima, Ohio.
She was born in Glen Campbell, Pennsylvania on May 10, 1916, the daughter of the late Peter Semon and Susan Franko Semon and the oldest of eleven children. At the age of 17 she left home to work in New York City. She joined St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church there and became active in the Legion of Mary and the Sodality of Our Lady, attending the Divine Liturgy frequently.
Encouraged by friends, she entered the newly-formed community of the Sisters of Christ the Teacher in Pittsburgh on December 7, 1959, and made her final profession of vows on January 6, 1964. She taught at Byzantine Catholic parish schools in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, Carteret, New Jersey, and Lakewood, Ohio. When the community of Sisters of Christ the Teacher disbanded, she transferred to the Benedictine Sisters of the Byzantine Church at Queen of Heaven Monastery in Warren, Ohio in 1973. She taught elementary grade students at Saints Peter and Paul School, Warren until 1989. For many summers she also volunteered with the Appalachian Project in Vanceburg, Kentucky. She began working with the young children at the Benedictine Early Learning Center on the property of Queen of Heaven Monastery in 1989. When the BEL Center closed, she volunteered as a teacher aide at the Children’s Rehabilitation Center in Warren from 1999 to 2007. In 2009 she was one of the two honorary co-chairs for the Retirement Fund for Religious appeal in the Diocese of Youngstown. She celebrated her silver jubilee of religious profession in 1985 and her golden jubilee in 2010. Sister was a member of the Greek Catholic Union, the Society of Saint John Chrysostom, the Carpatho-Rusyn Society, and Howland Scope.
Sister Mary John leaves behind four brothers, Edward, Albert, John, and David Semon, and three sisters, Irene Semon Verbiak, Dorothy Ann Semon Callaghan, and Margaret Semon Rudin. She was preceded in death by two brothers, Joseph and Michael Semon, and a sister, Mary Semon Moe.
A Parastas was celebrated Wednesday evening, December 26 at Saints Peter and Paul Byzantine Catholic Church in Warren by Very Reverend Andrew J. Deskevich, chancellor of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh and pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Church. Mary Beth Byers cantored the service.
The Funeral Liturgy was concelebrated at Saints Peter and Paul Church on Thursday, December 27 by Metropolitan Archbishop William C. Skurla of Pittsburgh, Very Reverend Andrew J. Deskevich, and Abbot Leo R. Schlosser of Holy Trinity Monastery, Butler, Pennsylvania and pastor of St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church, Lyndora, Pennsylvania. Also present were Reverend Monsignor Alexis E. Mihalik, pastor emeritus of Infant of Prague Byzantine Catholic Church in Boardman, Ohio, Reverend Robert J. Karl, pastor of St. Andrew the Apostle Byzantine Catholic Church, Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, and Reverend Christopher R. Burke, pastor of Infant Jesus of Prague Church. Wiley Byers, Bill Catlin, and Jacob Mosko served as acolytes. Mary Beth Byers cantored the Liturgy and Stephen Byers chanted the epistle.
Family members present included Edward and David Semon; Irene, Frank, Cathy and Bob Verbiak; Margaret Rudin; Karen and Kerrie Riegel; and Tonda Gaddy. Besides the sisters of her religious community, Sister Valeria Evanyo, OSBM and Sister Elaine Kisinko, OSBM of the Sisters of Saint Basil the Great, Uniontown, Pennsylvania attended, as well as Sister Mary Ann Diersing, OSU of the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown. Also present were members of Saint Benedict’s Auxiliary, the Oblates of Saint Benedict, the Carpatho-Rusyn Society, and the Society of Saint John Chrysostom, as well as parishioners and friends. The committal service took place at Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in Warren, followed by a repast at Enzo’s Restaurant.
Sister Mary John enjoyed life and God’s blessings. She was a strong-minded, gifted woman, enjoying books, quiz shows, word puzzles, opera, ballet, art museums, sports, plants, vegetable gardening, yoga, arts and crafts, traveling with Scope, the annual pilgrimage to Uniontown, and the activities of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society. She also volunteered at the St. Vincent DePaul Dining Hall in Warren.
Sister Mary John had a deep spirituality and love for prayer. In her last days which were often filled with pain, she asked to receive the Sacraments as often as possible. As Father Deskevich remarked in his homily, she left a mark on the lives of many.