Paul and Jeanette Mentenko

Paul Mentenko (1933-2024)

and

Jeanette Ann Mentenko (born Patriuk/Patrick) (1942-2017)

Early life of Paul Mentenko

Paul Mentenko was born on 9 July, 1933, in Blue Wing, (near Lennard) Manitoba, Canada. Later, this region (near Blue Wing Lake) became the Rural Municipality of Riding Mountain West.

His father was John K Mentenko (1879-1978) and his mother was Dora Hulunga (1890-1996), both of Bucovina, Romania. They were 7 brothers and a sister, and Paul was the youngest. When Paul was born, his father was 64 years old, and his mother was 43 years old.

Paul grew up in Blue Wing, and he went to school there as well. As he said, “I went in the front and out the back”. This was not because he did not go at all, but rather because his father often kept him home to help on the farm. As he also said, he walked 4 km (2 ½ mi) uphill to school.

Blue Wing school

One day, when he was 15 years old, along with a friend, he decided to go away with the circus after he had finished his chores. They both continued to work with the circus until the company went back to the USA.

Since they wanted to remain in Canada, they then began to work in Winnipeg, Manitoba, instead. From there, Paul travelled to Southern Ontario, where he worked on a tobacco farm for some time, after which he returned to Winnipeg. He then went to work for Eldorado Mining in the Northwest Territories in 1956.

Later, he returned to his father’s farm, and then he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, where he worked for a structural steel firm. There was a branch of this firm in Assiniboia (south of Regina), where he worked for a time.

It was there that he met his future wife. Although Jeanette seemed not at first to warm to Paul, they continued to correspond while he remained in Regina working, and they became friends.

Early life of Jeanette Patrick

Jeanette Ann Patrick was born on 16 July, 1942, in Elm Springs, Saskatchewan. Her father was Nicholas Patrick (1913) and her mother was Dora Laurick (1921), both born in Flintoft, Saskatchewan, and they were 15 brothers and sisters in all.

Jeanette grew up in Assiniboia, where she went to school. Then, she began to work in a restaurant.

This is where she met Paul when he was working in her town.

Marriage, 1959

Paul Mentenko and Jeanette Ann Patrick were married in Regina on 9 May, 1959, at Saint George’s Church. Father Petru Avram blessed the marriage.

They then lived in Melfort, Saskatchewan, while there was work on a pipeline.

Afterwards, in 1961, they moved to Blue Wing, Manitoba, where they farmed for 9 years.

Their 2 children soon arrived. Doralynn was born in 1959. Christopher Paul was born in 1961.

The last 3 of their 9 farming years were very bad growing years, so they left for Winnipeg to work until 1976.

In 1976, they moved to live and work in Calgary, Alberta. “Love”, and particularly Christian love, may be said to be a simple and accurate way to describe how Paul and Jeanette came to live their lives as time passed. Of course, being Romanian helped to foster this, since hospitality is such an outstanding characteristic of Romanian life, and Romanian Christian life in particular.

In Calgary, they began to go to services at Saint Mary’s Romanian Orthodox Church. There, Paul was immediately conscripted to serve as the reader, and Jeanette began her active service in the women’s group.

Settling in Calgary

After their arrival in Calgary, Alberta, Paul opened his own construction business in which he worked for 30 years until he retired. By this work, he supported his family.

Paul

Meanwhile, Jeanette also worked constantly in the parish kitchen along with several other faithful women. It was many years before others who were younger began to be ready and prepared to undertake this same service. Both Paul and Jeanette were active in Saint Mary's until 1990, where the Romanian language was still used for the most part. However, by this time, they had become very concerned about trying to find Orthodox worship in the English language.

It was at this same time that the very beginnings of the Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut Orthodox Church were occurring, and where the English language alone was to be used.

Finding the parish of the Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut, 1992

As Paul wrote in a historical note, he and Jeanette left the Romanian Episcopate in 1992 precisely in order to find a community that used English. It only took them a couple of weeks to do so. The parish family at the Church of Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut would become the heart of their own lives thereafter.

When they first encountered the community, the people were meeting in a rented church-school room of a Roman Catholic parish. When they arrived, they also met Father Peter and Matushka Julia Isaac and their family, Father Philip Speranza, Richard and Nettie Andrews, Glenn and Shirley Sawitzky, Walter and Liza Dimitrowsky from Montréal, Québec, and a few others. After a few weeks passed, 3 more families came to join, and then others followed.

By this time, a man had told Father Peter about an empty building. Father Peter had then contacted the owner, who said that the property could be used until it would be sold. However, the building was in very poor condition, and a considerable amount of work needed to be done to make it useable. The parishioners worked hard to clean the building, and to make a Holy Table, icon-stands, and a temporary iconostas. Both Father Peter and Father Philip began to serve the Divine Liturgy for the small and growing parish family. Besides the Divine Liturgy, Vespers was also served, and sometimes there would be baptisms and marriages. By this time, Paul had already been serving as the president of the parish council.

Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut, first site, 1993

After a few years, Father Philip Speranza was transferred to the Edmonton region. By this time also, it was clear that the Isaac family had great difficulty surviving economically, because the parishioners could not yet afford to provide a proper (sufficient) income for Father Peter and his family.

Therefore, Paul asked Ed Green (now the Monk Tikhon) to write a letter to the dean of the Alberta Deanery, the Archpriest Stephen J Keaschuk at Saint Herman’s Church in Edmonton. The letter made an appeal to him that, since the parish could not afford to remunerate Father Peter properly, a way be found to find a community which could. Such a community was found, although it was in the USA, and after due procedures, the Isaac family was transferred by Bishop Seraphim (Storheim), and they moved to Pueblo, Colorado.

After this, from 1994 to 1995, the parishioners continued to gather weekly for a reader’s service on Sunday. Service books were printed for this purpose. One Sunday per month, a priest would travel from Edmonton in order to serve the Divine Liturgy for the parishioners. During this time, Paul began writing a monthly bulletin so that parishioners would be able to know what was happening at all times.

Since Father Larry Reinheimer had come to be the main priest to serve the community, he and his wife Myra agreed that they could offer themselves to the parish if the community could manage to remunerate them with the same income that they were receiving in the rural parishes northeast of Edmonton. The parishioners assembled under Paul’s leadership, discussed the situation, and voted in favour of providing the same income that he was receiving. As a result, Father Larry Reinheimer, his wife Myra, and their 3 sons moved to Okotoks in order to serve the parish in Calgary. At this time, Paul was able to withdraw from his service as president, although he continued as he had already long done to serve as the parish’s main reader. Paul sincerely attributes all these events to the help of God

For a period of time, Jeanette worked at the Bethany Care Centre. Meanwhile, Paul and Jeanette began to face serious health difficulties.

In 1990, Jeanette had discovered that she suffered from a serious case of polycystic kidney disease, an inherited disease from which many of her relatives had suffered and died. The result was that she had to have both her kidneys removed, and she had to endure regular and frequent kidney dialysis. Her body did not respond very well to the dialysis. However, her sister Diane Georgette (the one person in her family to escape the condition) moved to Calgary in order to be tested for kidney compatibility. The results were positive. Diane gave one of her kidneys to her sister. Afterwards, Diane decided to remain in Calgary. The surgery took place on 9 May, 1991, Paul and Jeanette’s 32nd wedding anniversary.

After this, there was an improvement for a time, but Jeanette continued to have difficulties with her health as time passed, and her physical suffering continued for other reasons. Frequent hospitalisation came to be a characteristic of her life as well. Nevertheless, neither she nor Paul wavered in their trust in the Lord nor in their maintaining their love and service of Him as their first priority. They were constantly strengthened, refreshed and encouraged by the Lord in a multitude of ways. They continued to be present and active in accordance with their particular gifts in the parish family. By their loving example, they encouraged others and gave others hope.

Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut, Calgary, first Temple

50 years of marriage, 2009

50th anniversary dinner

In 2009, Paul and Jeanette came to the fulfilment of 50 years of marriage. They arranged a family-style celebration in a Calgary community hall, and they welcomed their family, friends and parish family with open arms. Following is an account written about it :

Recently, it was my great joy to attend a kind of celebration so rare in our time that it deserves an entire
article devoted to it : the 50th anniversary of the loving marriage between two faithful Christians. Paul and
Jeanette Mentenko have a special place in my heart. I regard them as elders on my own spiritual journey. My
wife and I look up to them as examples of a loving Christian marriage that has endured and continues to
thrive. As a priest, I see them as paradigms of true lay service in a Christian community.

Noteworthy as this couple is, though, their golden anniversary celebration was characteristically understated.
A few of the church ladies cooked the supper, which consisted of ham, turkey, mashed potatoes and veggies.
Dessert was a wedding cake baked by a friend. The drinks came in plastic cups, the food on paper plates.

The entertainment was equally unpretentious. Paul and a friend did a duet on fiddle and guitar. My wife and
daughter sang ‘Bound for the Promised Land.’ Another old friend of the couple (who herself had just
celebrated her 51st wedding anniversary) told some jokes. It felt like an open mike at a family reunion.

One of the highlights of the evening came when Paul got up and spoke to his wife in terms of tenderness and
endearment that brought tears to our eyes. Following this, our own Bishop Seraphim (Storheim), who was seated at the
centre of the head table, awarded Paul and Jeanette a gramota, a traditional certificate recognizing their
past and continuing years of faithful lay service to the Church.

Leaving this simple and down-to-earth event, I was struck with a sense of having witnessed something both
beautiful and dignified : two lives of steadfast faith lived in complete and loving union for over five
decades.

You might ask, as I did, how they managed it ? If you think that Paul and Jeanette had it easy in some way,
you would be wrong. Financial struggles and hardships dogged them for years, and now they live without
savings on their Canada Pensions alone. They suffered too in the raising of their children, with every kind
of sorrow about which they were often helpless to do anything, except pray. And no doubt, they worked through
the familiar daily difficulties involved in a working marriage.

Eighteen years ago, Jeanette had a kidney transplant. Ever since, she has struggled with the antirejection
medications, often being so debilitated that she is confined to her bed. Heart attacks, bouts of pneumonia,
countless operations – these are some of the sufferings Jeanette has endured, with Paul steadfast by her side.

In other words, their life together has been no easier nor more ideal than anyone else’s ; and more often than
not, it has been more difficult. Yet Paul and Jeanette have maintained their marriage in love and
faithfulness to each other, while preserving their belief that God holds their relationship in His
providential hands.

Are these people somehow ‘super’ Christians, possessing extraordinary inner resources that allowed them to
weather the storm ? Perhaps, but it’s unlikely. From what I know of their personal spiritual lives, I am
aware that they have cultivated the habit of praying daily for everyone they know. I recall, for instance,
visiting them and seeing a photograph of myself and my family hanging with several others in the corner where
they go to pray – reminders of those whom they commit to God’s care every day.

And what of the gramota, the certificate that the Archbishop presented in honour of Paul and Jeanette’s
exemplary service to the Church ? For Paul, exemplary service means being in the temple regularly, and
restocking candles and supplies. For Jeanette, it is even more fundamental : she attends and contributes to
every church event that her weakened body will permit. They are just faithful people, who over the years have
continually supported and encouraged their leaders and their community as best they could. Their choice to
seat the Archbishop at the centre of their head table was more than merely accidental. For Paul and
Jeanette, Christ and His Church are always the centre of everything.

I have told this dear couple’s story, because in my limited experience, there is no shortage of those who long
for power and glory in Church, who are zealous to improve and fix and reshape communities according to their
personal vision. There is no end to the line of people who enjoy titles and honours, who would like their
names on plaques, who dream of being toasted at banquets and applauded by congregations.

But extraordinary indeed are people like Paul and Jeanette, people who do not obtrude, who struggle quietly
and are victorious without fanfare ; who serve steadfastly and without complaint. Rare indeed are the people
who accept whatever life God gives them, offering up everything and everyone they encounter to Him.

Don’t get me wrong ; we need leaders, visionaries, movers and shakers. But as we seek to raise up those folks
to stand in the limelight, let’s not forget to honour and treasure those in the wings, who come early and stay
late without being asked ; who encourage without fail ; who can always be called upon in a pinch ; who are
cheerful, prayerful, and humble. Let’s not forget the faithful ones ; they are truly worthy of our praise.

— An article by Priest Richard René (of Saint Aidan’s Mission in Cranbrook, British Columbia) in the
Autumn, 2009, ‘Canadian Orthodox Messenger’.

Bereavement, 2011

On 26 April, 2011, Paul and Jeanette and their family suffered the loss of their daughter Doralynn. She was 51 years old at the time. She was described as being a beautiful, cherished and loved mother, daughter and grandmother. She was known for her smile and her optimistic approach, even during her short struggle with cancer.

After the funeral services on Saturday, 30 April, 2011, her body was interred at Mountainview Memorial Gardens in Calgary.

Of course, this loss was difficult for both parents to bear, as it is with almost any parent whose child reposes before the parents.

Nevertheless, joy and hope in Christ continued to sustain them both.

Increasing age and less strength had led Paul and Jeanette to move to an apartment. Then, as Jeanette’s health continued to be more problematic, her increasing fragility required a facility with more health-care. For some time, this was adequate, and they managed well.

In early 2017, Jeanette’s health began to deteriorate further, and she was eventually hospitalised.

Repose of Jeanette, 2017

Then, on Saturday, 15 April, 2017, Jeanette fell asleep in the Lord at the age of 74, after 58 years of marriage. This was Great and Holy Saturday in the Orthodox Christian Church.

Such a time to have fallen asleep in Christ is always considered to be of a particularly positive significance regarding the person who has reposed, particularly because it is the time of the Feast of Pascha, the Resurrection of Christ.

Jeanette

The services of the funeral of Jeanette took place in Bright Week. Accordingly, all the services surrounding her repose bore the character of the Feast of Pascha and the Resurrection of Christ.

On Thursday (Bright Thursday), 20 April, 2017, at 7:00 p.m., in the Temple of Saint Peter the Aleut in Calgary, Alberta, the Panikhida (Memorial Service) for Jeanette was led by Archpriest Phillip Eriksson, the rector, assisted by Archpriest Larry Reinheimer, the retired former rector.

On Friday (Bright Friday), 21 April, 2017, at 10:00 a.m., in the Temple of Saint Peter the Aleut in Calgary, Alberta, the Funeral Service for the Burial of a Lay-person was led by Archpriests Phillip Eriksson and Larry Reinheimer.

Following the completion of the funeral services, Jeanette's body was interred at the Mountain View Memorial Gardens in Calgary.

Grave-marker

Paul continued his life in solitude

Paul

After that time, Paul continued to live on his own in the apartment, on his meagre pension. He did so for some years.

As always, he continued to do anything he could to help others, even though he did feel bereft of the presence of his beloved wife.

Paul continued to have an active life of prayer and love for the Lord, which sustained him in his bereavement. It helped him not only to have Christian hope, but to share it also with others.

Paul

Because of his own weakening health, he began to have a more difficult time getting to the Temple for worship, but the clergy brought him the Holy Mysteries regularly, and various parishioners kept in contact with him.

Then it became necessary that he move to a retirement residence where he could have more assistance and support in his life. He continued to feel keenly the physical absence of Jeannette, but in his life of prayer, they were near to each other. Paul continued to keep in contact with his friends and family, and his sense of humour and his love for others remained very much alive.

Then Paul suffered a fall which caused other physical troubles.

Repose of Paul, 2024

On Friday, 19 April, 2024, Reader Paul Mentenko fell asleep in the Lord in Calgary, Alberta. He was 90 years of age. McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes was entrusted with the funeral arrangements.

On Thursday, 25 April, 2024, at 6:30 p.m., at Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut Orthodox Church in Calgary (1802-33 Ave SW), a Panikhida (memorial service) was served for the newly-departed Reader Paul Mentenko. Mitred Archpriest Phillip Eriksson ; Archpriest Larry Reinheimer ; Archpriest Andrew Applegate ; Archpriest Dan Suciu ; Priest Sebastian Scratch ; and Deacon Kevin Wigglesworth officiated. Following the service, tributes were offered.

On Friday, 26 April, 2024, at 10:00 a.m., at Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut Orthodox Church in Calgary, the Funeral Service for the Burial of a Lay-person was offered for the newly-departed Reader Paul Mentenko. Mitred Archpriest Phillip Eriksson ; Archpriest Larry Reinheimer ; Archpriest Andrew Applegate ; Archpriest Dan Suciu ; Priest Sebastian Scratch ; and Deacon Kevin Wigglesworth officiated. This was followed by a reception and refreshments.

Following the funeral obsequies and the reception, a procession was formed, which transported the body of the newly-departed to the Mountain View Cemetery (1605-100 Street SE) in Calgary. There, following the final Litiya, his body was interred next to that of his wife, Jeannette.

Grave-marker

Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut, Calgary, second Temple

Reflections

Paul and Jeanette Mentenko would both readily admit that during their lives they sometimes had made mistakes and wrong choices. They also readily acknowledged these errors, and they openly repented. This sort of matter-of-fact humble repentance is a hallmark of a serious Orthodox Christian, and the way they lived their lives serves as a good example for us.

Paul and Jeanette worked hard to make a living and to nurture their family in love. The love which motivated them was not only simple human love. Rather, it was this love transformed and transfigured by their love for and in Christ. Because the love for the Lord was the primary motivation in their lives, their lives have been marked by the manner in which they readily served, and did whatever was necessary to develop, promote and sustain the worshipping Orthodox Christian communities to which they belonged.

Having been raised in the Romanian Orthodox Church in Canada, there was already a preparation to use the vernacular language of the people for prayer, worship and study of the Holy Scriptures. When, in life, the English language became predominant, it was natural to move towards the direction of prayer, worship and study in the English language. This was particularly so when newly-arrived Romanian immigrants would naturally prefer to perpetuate Romanian, in contrast to Paul and Jeanette who had grown up in Canada and in an English-speaking environment.

It was their love for the Lord which sustained them through every challenge.

Paul and Jeanette are by far not alone in living in his manner, but they serve as good representatives of the many others who have lived and do live likewise.

After the repose of Paul in 2024, Ron Boghean, a longtime friend, left the following comment (which applies similarly to Jeannette) :

 So very sorry for the loss of a great friend who brought to everyone he met a light heart and always said 
 something that made one, as a minimum, chuckle and most often laugh outright.  In doing so he brought ease to a 
 serious situation and made discussing and resolving disagreements in a mild manner such that two parties would 
 be brought together in consensus and depart as friends.  This was one way Paul exercised his DEEP belief in 
 Christ to bring peace and love to a person in despair.  Although he leaves us, I know his spirit is rejoicing 
 with great exuberance to not only be with Christ but with his cherished loves of his life deceased wife Janet
 and daughter Dora Lynn.  Thank You !! my dear friend, I know you are resting in peace.

References

Bugea, Eleanor, “Romanians in Canada” (Michigan : Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America, 2009). ISBN : 978-1-929200-14-6.

Tarasar, Constance J, ed., “Orthodox America 1794-1976 : Development of The Orthodox Church in America” (Syosset, NY : The Orthodox Church in America Department of History and Archives, 1975). ASIN : B000ZLZAUE.

‘The Faithful Ones’ in “Canadian Orthodox Messenger” (Autumn, 2009), pp. 5, 6.

Additional information :

Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut Orthodox Church in Calgary, Alberta

Archdiocese of Canada listing for Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut Orthodox Church

Archdiocese of Canada web-site

Orthodoxwiki article about the Archdiocese of Canada

Orthodox Church in America (OCA) listing for Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut Church

Orthodox Church in America web-site

Orthodoxwiki article about The Orthodox Church in America

Saint George’s Romanian Orthodox Church in Regina, Saskatchewan

Nativity of Saint Mary’s Romanian Orthodox Church in Calgary, Alberta

Romanian Episcopate (OCA) : Canada West Deanery web-site