Our dear Mom, Iona M. Coval, died
peacefully on July 12, 2013, following a brief illness. She was born on February 2, 1926, in
Hazleton, Pennsylvania, to the late Lewis J. and Mary A. (Miko) Maylath. While we mourn the loss of our dear Mom
(Iona), we know that she is now in heaven and always in our hearts.
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| Iona's First Communion Day May 13, 1933 |
Our Mom and Dad celebrated their 60th
wedding anniversary on June 27, 2013. Deo
gratias!
Mom retired after 36 years of service as
Secretary of Saint Margaret Mary School, Harrisburg, where generations of
students and parents experienced her thoughtfulness, attention to detail, and
spirit of generosity. We enjoyed listening
to Mom’s “school stories,” being with her at church or shopping when parents
and students came up to greet Mrs. Coval with a smile or hug, and seeing her
delight at the countless homemade gifts she received and treasured and for
which she sent countless handwritten thank you notes.
Mom (Iona) was an active member of Saint
Margaret Mary Parish, especially involved with organizing Project Easter
Basket, the Christmas Craft Bazaar, and helping with the Parish Festivals. She served in a variety of leadership roles
with the Parish Council of Catholic Women and led fundraising efforts to build
water tanks to benefit African villages.
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| Rev. William O'Donnell, OMI, Pastor; Iona, CCW President; Susan Grove, Vice-President; Isabelle Ellsperman, Secretary; Linda Melenchek, Treasurer; A. June Ward, Past-President |
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| Anne Shepos, Mom (Iona), Karen, newly elected President of the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations (WUCWO) on June 7, 2010 |
She was a devoted wife and
mother. She was a wonderful homemaker
and enjoyed preparing traditional Slovak food with her daughters. Her hobbies included gardening, crocheting,
knitting, crossword and jigsaw puzzles. Mom
(Iona) enjoyed playing the piano, especially duets with her sisters or daughters. The closing hymn of her funeral Mass, Star
of the Sea, was traditionally played by Iona’s sister, Mamie, who was
organist for more than 50 years at Holy Trinity Slovak Roman Catholic Church,
where the family lived in Hazleton. The
music and lyrics (below) give us hope and peace.
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| Mary Ann, Terry, Dad (John), Mom (Iona), Karen |
Your support and prayers are
greatly appreciated. Words cannot
express our gratitude for your countless expressions of sympathy and kindness:
the Holy Sacrifices of the Mass being offered for Mom (Iona), the perpetual
enrollments in spiritual works of religious congregations, memorial donations
in honor of Mom, beautiful flowers, delicious food, phone calls, e-mails, precious
shared memories of Mom and so much more.
You are signs of God’s love and our Blessed Mother’s care for each of
us. May God richly bless you as you have
blessed us!
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| Mary, Star of the Sea, Stella Maris Iona's (Mom's) Funeral Mass and Burial were held on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16, 2013
Star of the East, oh Bethlehem star,
Guiding us on to heaven afar
Sorrow and grief are lull’d
by thy light
Thou hope of each mortal, in
death’s lonely night
Fearless and tranquil, we look up to Thee
Knowing thou beam’st through
eternity
Help us to follow where Thou
still dost guide
Pilgrims of earth so wide
Star of the East, thou hope of the soul
While round us here the dark
billows roll
Lead us from sin to glory
afar
Thou star of the East, thou
sweet Bethl’em’s star.
Star of the East, undimmed by each cloud,
What tho’ the storms of
grief gather loud
Faithful and pure thy rays
beam to save
Still bright o’er the
cradle, and bright o’er the grave
Smiles of a Saviour are mirror’d in thee
Glimpses of Heav’n in thy
light we see
Guide us still onward to
that blessed shore
After earth’s toil is o’er
Star of the East, thou hope of the soul
While round us here the dark
billows roll
Lead us from sin to glory
afar
Thou star of the East, thou
sweet Bethl’em’s star.
Oh star that leads to God above
Whose rays are Peace and Joy
and Love
Watch o’er us still till
life hath ceased
Beam on, bright star, sweet
Bethlehem star.
The words were written by George Cooper in
1890. The music was arranged by composer Amanda Kennedy in 1883, for a song
called "Star of the Sea". http://www.songonlyrics.com/star-of-the-east-lyrics
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“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
ReplyDeleteyou will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever becomes humble like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.”
Matthew 18: 3-5
One month to the day after our Mom died some dear friends shared with me the good news they received from the wife’s sonogram… and then asked me if I would be the godmother to their child. When I was able to answer through my tears of joy I, of course, said that I would be honored to serve as godmother. The husband then told me that the baby’s official due date is January 2—one month before our Mom’s birthday. The timing could only be God’s time!
Please pray for the parents, big brothers and big sisters of my expected godchild. Please pray that I may worthily fulfill this responsibility.
We never know when God is going to call us to be spiritual mothers or fathers to His children, in formal or informal ways. But the faith that we received was given to us to be shared with others. We need to be ready to share God’s love and our love with all His children that we meet on life’s journey.