Irene Petrick

Irene Mankovich Petrick of Gaithersburg, MD, age 95, passed away peacefully at Asbury Methodist Village on July 1, 2019. Vichnaya Pamyat (“Memory Eternal”).

Irene was born in Punxsutawney, PA on May 18, 1924 to the late Olga Hucsko and Reverend Paul Mankovich. She was preceded in death by her husband, Nicholas A. Petrick, in 1987. She is survived by her four children: Patricia Petrick (William Mullins) of Potomac, MD; Carolyn Morin (the late Richard Morin) of Mason, OH; Gregory Petrick (Irene Johnston Petrick) of Scottsdale, AZ; and Marianne Wood (William Wood) of Annapolis, MD. She is cherished by her ten loving grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, many Godchildren, nieces, nephews, and a large extended family.

In 1951 she married Nick Petrick, whom she knew since childhood, within the tight-knit community of priests’ families in Pennsylvania. The marriages in her generation among those families created a fellowship that endured throughout their lives and into the next generation. Her father Reverend Paul Mankovich and her brother Reverend Theodore Mankovich served in Punxsutawney, PA, and her father-in-law Reverend Aurelius Petrick served in Farrell, PA. Irene was proud of her faith and Ruthenian family heritage tied to the Byzantine Catholic church. She was a founding member in 1954 of St. Pius X Church in Pittsburgh, PA, and of Epiphany of Our Lord Mission established in Montgomery County, MD in 1996.

Irene graduated from Seton Hill University in 1944 with a B.A. in Biology. She worked in pharmaceutical research at Merck in Cleveland, OH, then as a physical therapist for children with polio in Phoenix, AZ. Irene and Nick started their married life together in Oak Ridge, TN, then lived in Pittsburgh, PA for 22 years before relocating to Montgomery Village, MD in 1974. Irene volunteered at school libraries and special education classes. For many years, she shared her keen interest in Native American history as a docent at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, as well as working with children in the museum’s interactive Discovery Room. Irene was blessed to be healthy and active on the tennis court and golf course with her friends until recent years. Her grandchildren fondly remember family beach trips to Stone Harbor, NJ and Nana’s pantry always stocked to share her favorite treats, especially Oreos and peanut M&Ms.

Visitation and Small Panachida will be held on Saturday July 13 at 10am at Epiphany of our Lord Byzantine Catholic Church in Annandale, VA, followed at 11am by the Great Panachida (Funeral) Liturgy. Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring, MD.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Epiphany of Our Lord Byzantine Catholic Church, Montgomery County Mission, 3410 Woodburn Road, Annandale, VA 22003, www.eolmission.org/ and www.eolbcc.org/ or to the Asbury Foundation for Asbury Methodist Village, 5285 Westview Drive, Suite 200, Frederick, MD 21703, www.asbury.org/foundation/ .