Obituary of Very Reverend Fr. John Michael Garvey

Fr. John Garvey was born in Decatur Illinois, May 8, 1944, the eldest of eight brothers and sisters. He received his B.A. at Notre Dame University in 1967, marrying Maria Regina Carbonell on June 10 the same year. Fr. John was a writer and author. He was a long time columnist for the journal, Commonweal. His publications included Seeds of the Word: Orthodox Thinking on Other Religions, St Vladimir's Seminary Pr (April 5, 2006); Death and the Rest of Our Life, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (June 20, 2005); Orthodoxy for the Non-orthodox: A Brief Introduction to Orthodox Christianity, Templegate Pub (November 30, 2002); Saints for Confused Times, Thomas More Press (1976). Fr. John was received into the Orthodox Church from Roman Catholicism at St. Michael's Orthodox Church, St. Louis 1984 IL (OCA), and was followed by Regina, who was received at St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Church in Springfield, IL in 1990. He completed his M.Div. at St. Vladimir's Theological Seminary in 1993, having been ordained to the Orthodox priesthood the previous year. He served parishes in the New Jersey, New York Diocese as well as the Albanian Archdiocese of the Orthodox Church in America. Fr. John Matushka retired to Washington State to be near children and grandchildren. He continued to serve and preach at Holy Resurrection Church, Tacoma, where he was attached. Fr. John died in Puyallup, WA, January 20, 2015 and leaves behind his dear wife, Matushka Regina; two children, Hugh and Maria, both married, and four grandchildren, Andrew, Timothy, Violet and Desmond; and six brothers and sisters. Services for Fr. John are being handled by Piper-Morley of Tacoma. Services at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, 8710 28th Ave. E. Tacoma WA 98445, includes a Panikhida on Jan. 22nd at 7:30 p.m. Divine Liturgy on Jan. 23rd at 9:00 a.m. followed by the Funeral Service for a Priest, 10:15 a.m. A meal will follow the funeral. Interment will be at the Wilkeson Town Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. Memorial gifts may be made to Holy Resurrection Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 1332, Puyallup, WA, 98371.