Mary Avila Smith, 63, of Allentown, passed away November 10, 2022. Born in Allentown, she was the daughter of Ethel May (Gruber) Galgon and the late Joseph Galgon Sr. Mary worked for many years in Behavioral Health & Special Needs Services. She enjoyed spending time helping and caring for others. Mary liked going on trips to the beach and spending her time gardening and tending to flowers in her back yard. She loved her cats and had a heart for rescuing those without a home. Most of all Mary loved spending time with her family. She will be deeply missed.
Survivors: mother- Ethel Galgon; children- Mandi Abernathy and her husband Craig, Clinton Svitilla Jr. and Darnell Ferrell; grandchildren- Aria, Brielle & Emmalyn Abernathy and Adeline & Brysen Svitilla; siblings- Betty Turczyn, Joanne Nichol and Joe Galgon Jr.; and many other loving nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends.
Services will be Private for the family care of Kohut Funeral Home, Inc.
Contributions can be made in Mary’s memory to Turning Point of Lehigh Valley 144 E. Susquehanna St. Allentown, PA 18103. https://www.turningpointlv.org/get-involved/donate/
Charles Seifert
Charles D. Seifert, 95, of Allentown, passed away February 4, 2022. He was the loving husband of almost 70 years to the late Irene R. (Sukenik) Seifert. Born in Allentown, he was the son of the late Charles and Bessie (Nagle) Seifert. Charles served in the U.S. Navy during WWII on the LST350 during the D-day landings. He retired from Bethlehem Steel. Charles was a member of the VFW #2124 and was part of the 8th Ward Block Watch. He received the City of Allentown Leonard Buck Award for Crime Prevention. He will be deeply missed.
Survivors: sons- David (Julie) and Richard (Kathy), grandchildren- Jessica Trulick, Alan, Daniel and James, 5 great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his sister- Harriet Kratzer and brother- Lewis.
A viewing will be held Thursday, February 10th 10-11AM with a Service at 11AM in Kohut Funeral Home, Inc. 950 N. Front St. Allentown, PA 18102. Interment to follow in Highland Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Charles’ memory to the American Cancer Society.
Larry Shankweiler
Larry K. Shankweiler, 88, of Allentown, passed away December 13, 2021 in Whitehall Manor. He was the loving husband of the late Nedy C. (Claman) Shankweiler. Born in Allentown, he was the son of the late Kermit D. and Marion (Wuchter) Shankweiler. Larry graduated from Allentown High School in 1950. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He taught for 31 years as an instructor for Lehigh Valley Vocational School. Larry belonged to the Allentown YMCA and was a U.S. Handball member. He will be deeply missed.
Survivors: son- Larry S. and wife Susan Shankweiler of Manhattan, KS, daughter- Linda S. Shankweiler and husband Scott Burnet of Allentown, grandchildren Austin and Caylin, nieces and nephews- Ann Louise Carpenter, Stephen F. Carpenter, Paula Burke and Joseph Stelmach. He was predeceased by his son- Ronnie.
A viewing will be held Friday, December 17th 10-11AM with a Service to follow at 11AM in Kohut Funeral Home, Inc. 950 N. Front St. Allentown, PA 18102. Burial to follow in St. Marys Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Larry’s memory to the Wounded Warriors Project or to Whitehall Manor care of the funeral home.
Wolodymyr Silin
Wolodymyr I. Silin, 79, of Harleysville, passed away November 2, 2021. He was the husband of 52 years to Marie (Chudolij) Silin. Born in Ukraine, he was the son of the late Ivan and Sofia Silin. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Wolodymyr graduated from Milwaukee School of Engineering and then worked for many years as an electrical engineer in research and development. After his retirement he worked as a manager for Walmart. He was of the Ukrainian Orthodox faith.
Survivors: wife- Marie Silin, sons- Jakiw and Michael Silin, granddaughter- Lillie Marie Silin.
A Calling time will be held on Thursday, November 11th 11AM-12PM with. Service at 12:00PM Kohut Funeral Home Inc 950 N. Front St Allentown, PA 18102.
Rosie Sembrot
Rosie M. Sembrot, R.N., a loving wife, mother, and grandmother died on July 22, 2021 at the age of 85 years old. Rosie Mikos Sembrot was born on April 22, 1936 in Reading, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Mary and Nicholas Mikos. She graduated from Northeastern Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a degree in nursing in 1957. She was married to the late Dr. Joseph T. Sembrot on November 12, 1960. She was a devoted grandmother to her four grandchildren and contributed enriching their lives.
She was an avid reader, gardener and volunteer in the Lehigh Valley, where she volunteered her time at St. Luke’s nursing home. She was an active member of St. Mary’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Allentown, Pennsylvania where she volunteered at St. Mary’s Women’s Auxiliary. She enjoyed the outdoors, having traveled extensively with her husband on trips to Europe and throughout the United States. She was an avid numismatics, stamp collector and baseball card collector, having spent much leisure time in Baltimore, Maryland in pursuit of stamps and baseball cards while her husband attended medical lectures at the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”). She would recount her travels in Baltimore as her husband listened to the infectious disease specialists at the NIH. Rosie also took continuing education classes to learn Russian along with taking Chinese cooking classes to perfect the art of Chinese traditional foods.
She was predeceased by her oldest daughter, Debra Lynn who died at 10 years of age. She is survived by her daughter, Attorney Mary Sembrot Croly and her husband, Attorney Peter B. Croly, as well as her grandsons, Michael W. Croly and Matthew J. Croly of Larchmont, New York. She is also survived by her son, Attorney Joseph M. Sembrot and his wife, Mary Beth Sembrot as well as her granddaughter, Samantha Sembrot and her grandson, Joseph W. Sembrot of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Services-A viewing will be held on Tuesday, July 27th at 10:30-11AM in Kohut Funeral Home, 950 N. Front St., Allentown, PA. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, July 27th at 11:30AM in St. Mary’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 1031 Fullerton Ave., Allentown. Burial to follow in Parish cemetery and private luncheon thereafter to which family and friends are welcomed.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations be made to the American Cancer Society in the memory of their beloved mother.
Irene Seifert
Irene R. (Sukenik) Seifert, 92, of Allentown, passed away June 3, 2021. She was the loving wife of nearly 70 years to Charles D. Seifert. Born in Emmaus, she was the daughter of the late Jacob and Mary (Vlahovic) Sukenik. Irene was a member of St. John the Baptist Slovak Catholic Church and the church auxiliary. She will be deeply missed.
Survivors: husband- Charles Seifert; sons- David and wife Julie Seifert, Richard and wife Kathy Seifert; grandchildren- Alan, James, Jessica and Daniel; 4 great grandchildren; sister- Marion Melber. She was predeceased by her brothers- James and Edward Sukenik.
A viewing will be held on Wednesday, June 9th 10-11AM with a service to follow at 11AM all in Kohut Funeral Home, Inc. 950 N. Front St. Allentown, PA 18102. Burial to follow in Highland Memorial Park, Allentown.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Irene’s memory to St. John the Baptist Slovak Catholic Church.
Mildred Soha
Mildred A. (Mazurek) Soha, 91, of Allentown, passed away February 7, 2021. She was the loving wife of the late Robert J. Soha. Born in Allentown, she was the daughter of the late John and Mary (Kelhart) Mazurek. Mildred was a member of St. John the Baptist Slovak Catholic Church and their Church Auxiliary. She was also a member of AARP and the Allentown Garden Club. She enjoyed cooking, picnicking and gardening.
Survivors: daughter- Nanette and husband Jaime Busolits of Allentown, son- Robert M. Soha of Allentown, grandson- Shawn Busolits and wife Theresa, granddaughter- Jill Kaczmarek and husband John. She was predeceased by her brothers- Francis and Joseph Mazurek.
A viewing will be held on Saturday, February 13th 9:30-10:30 with a Mass of Christian Burial to follow at 10:30AM all in St. John the Baptist Slovak Catholic Church 924 N. Front St Allentown, PA 18102. Burial will be Private at a later date in Resurrection Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Mildred’s memory to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church care of Kohut Funeral Home, Inc.
Margaret Scanlon
Margaret (Batarick) Scanlon, 88, of Slatington, passed away on December 29, 2020. She was the loving wife of the late James J. Scanlon. Born in Allentown, she was the daughter of the late Stephen and Sophie (Wach) Batarick. She served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. She then retired from Western Electric after 40 years of service. Margaret was a member of St. John the Baptist Slovak Catholic Church in Allentown and their Auxiliary.
Survivors: Timothy J. and wife Karen of Slatington; grandchildren- Heather, Bryan and wife Kelley, Jamie and wife Lauren; great grandchildren- Ayden, Liam, Stella and Tessa; brothers- Frank and Charles Batarick; sister- Eleanor Whitby.
A viewing will be held Monday, January 4th 10-11AM with a Service at 11AM in Kohut Funeral Home, Inc. 950 N. Front St. Allentown, PA 18102. Burial to follow in the parish cemetery.
In lieu of flowers donation can be made to St. John the Baptist Slovak Catholic Church or to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital care of the funeral home.