OBITUARIES (02/15/98)

OBITUARIES

Sister Mary Jerome Roman, educator, first president of Manor Junior College

FOX CHASE MANOR, Pa. - Sister Mary Jerome Roman, 88, a Sister of St. Basil the Great, a former educator and the first president of Manor Junior College died on January 27 at Abington Hospital after having been hospitalized a few days earlier.

Born Mary Roman in Peckville, Pa., Sister Jerome was the daughter of Simon and Anna Sopcak Roman. An honored educator, she received a B.S. in education and an M.A. in English from Fordham University and a Ph.D. in higher education from Catholic University. She also studied sacred theology in Rome.

Sister Jerome taught in Ukrainian Catholic parochial schools in Philadelphia, New York City, Chicago and Hamtramck, Mich., and at St. Basil's Academy in Fox Chase Manor, Pa. She was the first president of Manor Junior College in Jenkintown, Pa. Both schools were founded, and continue to be operated, by the Sisters of St. Basil the Great.

For nine years, Sister Jerome served as general councilor of the Basilian Sisters. She was general secretary in Rome and was provincial superior of the Order of Sisters of St. Basil the Great from 1951 to 1954. She was the director of the office of religious education of the Philadelphia Archdiocese in 1981-1985.

An accomplished writer, she wrote numerous articles for the diocesan press and Ukrainian publications and authored the book "The Flaming Pillar of Cappadocian Caesarea," about the life of St. Basil the Great (in English and Ukrainian).

In 1979, she was elected "Ukrainian Woman of the Year" and honored at a reception at St. Joseph's Church in Chicago; in 1983 she was honored by the organization Very Special People (of northwestern Pennsylvania), for her service to the disabled.

Services for Sister Mary Jerome were held January 28 in the chapel of the Sisters of St. Basil the Great with interment at the cemetery on the grounds of the Basilian Motherhouse in Fox Chase Manor, Pa. Donations in her name may be sent to the Basilian Spirituality Center.

Rosalie Waskul-Kapustij, educator, community activist from Michigan

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. - Rosalie Waskul-Kapustij, an educator, community activist, wife and mother, died January 14, at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich.

Born in Detroit, Dr. Kapustij was the daughter of John and Anastasia Waskul. She attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and graduated with honors. Later, she attended graduate school, earning a master's degree and a Ph.D. in history. She last lived in Sterling Heights, Mich. but had formerly resided in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area.

She taught at Wayne State University, the University of Michigan at Dearborn, Mercy College and a small New Jersey college. However, much of her life focused upon community activism, a pursuit begun at the University of Michigan as president of the Ukrainian Club. Recently, she was president for over four years of the Ukrainian Graduates of Detroit and Windsor, an organization of Ukrainian American professionals. Through this organization, she became an instrumental force in organizing the national Federation of Ukrainian American Business and Professional Organizations. She was also a board member of the Ukrainian Village Corporation and the Ukrainian National Women's League of America Branch 50 based in Ann Arbor, Mich.

A loving and caring wife and mother, Dr. Kapustij devoted much of her time to her husband, Myron, and daughters, Carolyn and Cristina. She instilled in her daughters a love and respect for their Ukrainian ancestry and traditions. Especially important to her was the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Dr. Kapustij had a great love and concern for the community. "She had an incredible zest for life and love for others," said Carolyn. "Everyone who knew her will remember her kind and loving soul," added Cristina.

The panakhyda was held on January 16, with the Very Rev. Patrick Paschak OSBM and the Very Rev. Bernard Panczuk OSBM of St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in New York presiding; along with the Very Rev. Roberto Lucavei OSBM from Immaculate Conception Church in Hamtramck, Mich. The Revs. Panczuk and Paschak, dear friends of Rosalie Waskul- Kapustij, graciously traveled many miles for the panakhyda and to celebrate the requiem liturgy, which was offered on January 17 at Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Church by the Revs. Paschak, Panczuk and Lucavei.

In his eloquent eulogy, Father Paschak recalled Dr. Kapustij's many accomplishments and expressed the sense of loss felt by many because of her death. He concluded with a beautiful passage from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet."

Internment was at Resurrection Cemetery, Clinton in Township, Mich.

The family asks that memorial contributions be made to Immaculate Conception Church/School or the Scholarship Fund of the Ukrainian Graduates of Detroit and Windsor. Contributions may be sent c/o the Kapustij family, 36380 Maas Drive, Sterling Heights, MI 48312.

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