In Remembrance

John was a parishioner at St. Joseph’s church. His professional passion for engineering and innovation was reflected in all he did. John was always there to lend a hand or be a mentor to anyone who needed him – co-workers, neighbors, family, and friends.

Maria came from Italy in November 1966 with her husband Cristoforo and her daughter. Maria worked very hard all her life to give her children a better life. She was an amazing woman loved by everyone and ready to help at any time.

Maureen was employed by Eastman Kodak Company as Chief Operator for many years and retired in 1991. She sent her five children to Catholic school (including St Joseph School), took them to Mass and Confession, and celebrated all of the Sacraments with them. Maureen walked in faith every day and exemplified the true meaning of Love and Gods promise of everlasting life.

Mary Ellen had great faith and was a constant example of kindness. She was a parishioner of St. Joe’s for 58 years. Mary Ellen was a money counter, worked closely with Fr. Moynihan, was Parish Council secretary, a Minister of Communion, a daily Mass participant and brought Communion to Atria.

Mamie tirelessly baked Italian desserts, year after year, for the St. Joseph’s table at church. She was a very strong believer of her Catholic faith and the power of prayer. Mamie started every day praying – fervently praying the rosary, every single day.

To prepare to be a liturgical minister, Don became a cantor before he was a deacon. Preparation for the liturgy was going to be an important part of the deaconate ministry, so he learned all there was to learn. He put a lot of time, thought and prayer into homily preparation. He was always well-prepared for his homilies and often incorporated appropriate music. Sometimes he sang a refrain and sometimes he asked the assembly to sing along. Don prepared Presider books for our Lenten Season prayers of Adoration and Benediction. The Presider books that our deacons currently use for Baptism were originally created by Don. He also was the person who first made the suggestion for us to have an In Memoriam page in the bulletin. We have since moved that page to our website. He loved being a member of the Musical Ensemble who began as a new group at our former 5pm Mass. They were a family. Don created a charismatic prayer group that he named ‘Festival of Praise’. They met once a month beginning in 2013. The prayer group involved sharing and singing praise songs, praying with scripture and taking some time for private prayer and group response. People from around the area attended. Even as his health declined, he served as our deacon as often as he possibly could. He was an inspiration to our parish.

Marge was a member of Saint Joseph since 1966, volunteering along the way in several capacities. She was a ‘Monday money counter’ of the weekend church collection. Another big volunteer activity for her was as a certified Braille transcriber, turning many textbooks, novels, pamphlets, menus and other items into the dot formations needed for the blind to be able to read.

Alice was a faithful member of St. Joseph’s parish. She was an associate teacher at the Lorraine F. Abert Dance School and then a dance instructor at Miss Nancy’s School of Dance in Irondequoit. Alice also worked in the Consumer Credit Department of the Security Trust Company of Rochester in addition to her work as a dance instructor.

Joseph was a parishioner of Holy Spirit for many years. His faith was unwavering, a devout Catholic who found solace and strength in his relationship with God. He expressed his gratitude daily.

Jack played the clarinet and sax with the Ensemble - at the 5pm Mass for many years. He was a fine jazz musician and composer. Jack served in the 7th Army Symphony when he was in the Army and many years beyond. He composed a symphony for them that was performed.

Fr. Amann served as assistant pastor at St. Andrews, Rochester (1954-58), and Holy Trinity Webster, (1958-62), before becoming the first chaplain at Bishop Kearney High School (1962-65). He was assistant pastor (1965), copastor (1974-78) and pastor (1978-81) of Our Lady of Mercy in Greece, NY. He then served as administrator at St. Cecelia parish in Elmira for several months, before taking a sabbatical in Rome to study changes in the church post-Vatican II. After returning to the US in 1982, he helped found St. Elizabeth Ann Seton church (SEAS) in Hamlin, NY, which was one of his favorite experiences. Fr. Amann always gave the credit for the founding of SEAS to his parishioners. In 1990, Fr. Amann took another sabbatical, this time to Africa, to study enculturation and liberation theology. Upon retiring from the pastorate at SEAS in 1998, he lived and ministered at Our Lady of Lourdes (1998-2001) and St. Thomas More (2001-2009) in Brighton, and St. Joseph’s in Penfield (2009-2018). Fr. Amann resided most recently at the Saint Joseph’s Mother House in Rochester, NY. Fr. Amann had been in service as a Catholic priest for 69 years.

Alma attended mass at Holy Spirit church. Alma worked as a volunteer in the hospital bringing flowers to the patients. She was a true believer and lover of Jesus.

Ralph was a religious man and always treated people with kindness. He spoke the truth like it was, without any filters. He was very independent, fearless and a fighter/survivor. After a prognosis of a limited lifespan due to a broken spine from a football injury at John Fisher College, he lived for 42 more years.

Barb logged over 45 years of sobriety and openly shared the fact that Jesus answered her plea to get to that point. She attended meetings regularly and honored her sobriety by bringing experience, strength, and hope to others. Barb demonstrated a very strong faith. She could be described as “Tiny but Mighty Feisty.”

Ruth was a graduate of Our Lady of Mercy High School. She volunteered with Penfield Volunteer Ambulance Company as an EMT for many years. She was a member of the Century Club in Rochester and participated in many charitable activities with them. Ruth and her husband were long time members of Oak Hill Country Club, longstanding patrons of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and belonged to St. Joseph’s Church in Penfield, NY.

Mary’s deep faith, devotion to God, family and friends were demonstrated by how she lived her life. She taught CCD (Catechism) classes for many decades at Holy Spirit Church. Once the children of her former students began cycling through her classes over the years, Mary decided to retire at age 80. She then volunteered to help count with the collection committee.

Paul was deeply devoted to his Catholic faith serving God and his community his entire life. He began his career at Catholic Family Center in the foster care and adoption department. He moved to become the Director of Social Services at St. Joseph’s Villa. He had many jobs where he helped people in Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse - retiring at age 82. Paul was a compassionate leader and servant of God, serving on the Board of Directors of the Mary Cariola Center, the Christmas Bureau and Alternatives for Battered Women which he also helped establish. He was a fourth degree Knight of Columbus, earning the Knight of the Year Award for his service to the community and the Catholic faith. Paul served on the parish council at St. James and St. Joseph’s Churches and was also a parishioner at St. Jerome’s Church for the last 20 plus years.

John was a parishioner at St. Joseph’s. He taught physics for two years at the University of Rochester, and then he worked as a scientist at Xerox until his retirement. Jack was awarded 22 patents during his career.

Marissa was a parishioner of St. Joseph’s. She was a free spirit who brought light and love to others. She was described by many as ‘a bright light.”

Tom was a St. Joseph’s parishioner for 50 years, faithfully attending Mass every week. He worked for the Monroe County Sheriff Road Patrol from 1960–1966. He owned and ran Goodland Hoffman tire and automotive business (1966–1985) and worked as a Monroe County Sheriff Deputy Supervisor from 1985 until his retirement in 1999. Tom volunteered for the Penfield Fire Company in 1957. He was Fire Chief from 1971-1973 and was appointed to the Fire Commission in 1973. He served the Penfield Fire Company for over 65 years. Tom served our country in the U.S. Army (1960–1962) and experienced the trip of a lifetime when he travelled to Washington D.C. on the veteran’s Honor Flight in 2017.