Dr. Stefanie Yazge

Dr. Stefanie Yova Yazge suddenly fell asleep in the Lord on the morning of Thursday, June 29, 2017, the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul. Stefanie is survived by her husband of nearly 31 years, the Very Rev. Anthony G. Yazge, director of the Antiochian Village Camp, and by their three children, Matthew, Mark and Alexis. She is also survived by her siblings, Valerie and Gregory Yova (Margaret), and her mother-in-law, Miriam Yazge. She was preceded in death by her father, Protodeacon Paul Yova and her mother, Silvia Balaj. Stefanie was born and raised in Akron, Ohio, growing up in the parish of the Presentation of Our Lord, in the Romanian Episcopate (Orthodox Church in America). She attended Garfield High School in Akron, and was a member of the volleyball and basketball teams. She was very active in the church, attending the VATRA summer camp as a teenager and later working as a counselor. She was active in the AROY youth group, where she served on the national board in college and became the first woman to serve as its national president from 1978-80, following in her father's footsteps. Stefanie earned her bachelor's degree from Miami (Ohio) University, where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and part of the sorority's softball team. She earned a Master of Arts from St. Vladimir's Seminary in 1986, and a Doctorate from Union Institute and University (Cincinnati) in 2012. Dr. Yazge taught and shared her passion for theology and ethics at Seton Hill University and St. Vincent College, following ten years on the faculty of St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana. She wrote a number of articles, and has a chapter on St. Paula and the order of Widows in Vol. 2 of "Encountering Women of Faith." Stefanie also made numerous presentations, including the Mother Alexandra Memorial Lecture at the Monastery of the Transfiguration in Ellwood City, Pa., at the Virginia Festival of the Book, and the Huffington Ecumenical Institute at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Calif. Stefanie also served as committee coordinator for the annual Pan-Orthodox Clergy Wives Weekend held at the Antiochian Village. She directed the choir at St. Michael the Archangel Antiochian Orthodox Church in Greensburg, Pa., and served in the Publications Department of the Antiochian Archdiocese - where unsurprising to all of us, she quickly doubled and tripled the department's sales. But above all else, she was a true ray of joy in the world and a strong woman by any measure. Her ability to be a trusted confidant, a caring friend, a brilliant thinker, an amazing cook - and the first to share a dark chocolate or a margarita - blessed all of us who knew her. Visitation will be from noon to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 5, at St. Michael's Antiochian Orthodox Church in Greensburg, Pa., followed at 6:30 p.m. by the funeral, with a mercy meal afterward in the St. Michael's fellowship hall. The burial will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 6, at Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration, 321 Monastery Lane, Elwood City, Pa. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make donations to either the Orthodox Clergy Wives Fund (to support the annual weekend gathering of Orthodox clergy wives at the Antiochian Village) or to the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration. Checks for the Clergy Wives Fund can be made out to Orthodox Clergy Wives Fund, care of 100 Tara Drive, Greensburg PA 15601. Stefanie's family has entrusted her care to the CLEMENT L. PANTALONE FUNERAL HOME INC., Greensburg. To share your memories and photos, offer your condolences, or for directions, please visit us at www.pantalone.com Natale N. Pantalone, supervisor.