Reverend Raymond D. Jablinske, pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish in Wheeling, died Wednesday, Sept. 2001 at home. He was 59.
He was born in Wheeling on Jan. 30, 1942, a son of the late Walter and Ann Smurek Jablinske.
Father Jablinske was in the first graduating class at Bishop Donahue High School in McMechen. He attended Wheeling Jesuit College from 1959 to 1960 and Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island, from 1960 to 1961. He made his theological studies and received his B.A. from St. Mary
Deepest sympathy on the loss of Father Ray.
May the pain you are feeling be eased by the passage of time,the care of others and the thoughts of joyous times.
Living in McMechen,Bill and I knew Father Ray all his life. He will be sadly missed by all.
Kathleen McGlaughlin
I can almost see Fr.Ray entering the gates of heaven.
He will probably be driving 45 in a 15 mph zone,hitting his mirror on the iron gate,
picking it up and throwing it into the back seat, “this can be replaced ,its just a piece of metal, it’s not as important as a person or their feelings.” I’m sure he explained in no uncertain terms to St Peter that heaven can wait. “I have a very important statue to dedicate on Sun Oct 7. I can’t miss that, my whole parish is expecting me to be there, and besides I still have 12 vacation days left from my 30 that the Bishop gives me every year.I wasn’t ready to retire yet! If you want me to stay,I will.
Do you need help processing all of those poor firemen,policemen,emt’s and those at the pentagon and the poor souls who were in the airplanes? But first i want to see your school children I just love little children, and where is your kitchen? i’m really hungry.” After lunch Fr. Ray and St. Peter take a walk around the grounds. Fr. Ray tells St. Peter about his parish and school at Our Lady Of Peace in Wheeling WV. “The people there are very hardworking and giving. They never could say no to me, no matter what I might have asked them to do.
I asked them to help me build a statue of Mary Our Good Mother and they gave me enough money in just 24 hours! We have the best principal in the world, she is very organized and her faculty and staff work so hard to teach those dear little children. You know St. Peter, I had it made down there and I told them that often. I’m going to miss them all, but I did train them very well and they will carry on my work. St. Peter you have some very nice statues here in heaven. Is the marble from Italy and is the granite base from Vermont? If you want, maybe I could raise some money
and get some really nice statues……………………………Heaven will never be the same. And neither will Our Lady Of Peace!
God Bless America and Fr. Ray! We miss you and Love You!
Father Jablinske was BDHS. He was a great supporter of all of our athletic teams as well as the school. He was a great person and will never be forgotten. My family and I will always remember him. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and all of those that loved him.
father ray will be in our thoughts and prayers
Father Ray will be missed dearly here in New Mexico. Wealways
looked forward to his visit along with Father Pat when
they came to Albuquerque to visit our friends Bill and
Carol Yarnall. We always had a great time when we
went to his favorite restaurant, “Ragin Shrimp”.
Our prayers and sympathy go out to his family.
Father Ray,
We will miss you greatly.
We love you dearly!
The Saseen Family,
George, Susan, Jena, Matthew and Luke X O X O
Father Raymond helped us through some difficult times, baptized our children, and made us appreciate the value of family and fellowship. Since we have known Father Ray, our lives have been touched in a unique and holy way. We will miss you Father, and we love you. Say hello to our daughter & sister up in heaven.
The Furka’s
Father,
You have touched our family in so many ways that I can’t express. You were one of the reasons that I became a catholic. Please watch over Corey and Catie and give them guidence when they need it. WE MISS YOU FATHER
Father,
Having lost my daughter, Shawna, it was your masses and
your love that helped me this far. The masses that you had for
her got me through the Holidays and such.
I thank you and PLEASE find her in heaven and take care of her.
WE MISS YOU FATHER
Father, It’s hard to believe your gone. No one saw it coming but I guess it was your time to go! I will miss you sooo much! We will never forget you! XoXo We love you XoXo
Father:
I am so glad I became a member of OLP when I moved to the hilltop.
You will be greatly missed by all. We will always remember your love for the parish and school children. Rest in Peace
He laughed with us and he cried with us. He will be missed
I am numb with grief at the loss of my dear friend and brother priest, Ray J!
I know that as he prayed for me daily, by name, here on earth … he will remember me to God for all eternity!
I will never forget his strong support of my vocation, my priesthood and my ministry.
Ray J., may God grant you eternal life!
It has been a year since we moved back to the Ohio Valley.
Thank you, Father Ray, for letting us join OLP out of our diocese-but not out of your expertise. You did such a wonderful job. We loved your enthusiasm, sincerity, and honesty. You are missed! You were such a wonderful friend, classmate, & pastor! Our sincere sympathy to your sister, brothers, OLP, & Bishop Donahue!
It is with sad hearts that we offer our deepest sympathy to the family for the loss of Fr. Ray. We too have lost a great priest and good friend. He will always be with us in spirit. We will never forget Fr.Ray’s direct line to the Infant of Prague. How wonderful it must be to now have a face to face encounter with the Infant! Hopefully, time will heal our wounded hearts. We will miss him.
My and my family’ssincere condolences.
My sincere condolences.
My sincere sympathy is extended to you. I am the sister of Susan Thompson and Jean Ann Park, teachers at OLP and I knew Father Ray through them – he will be greatly missed by all that have had the pleasure to meet him.
Our deepest sympathies to Father Ray’s family, the parishoners of O.L.P. Church, the staff and students of O.L.P. Grade School and Bishop Donahue Memorial High School. Some of our Lion members are parishoners of O.L.P., some are graduates of Bishop Donahue. We share in your loss. He will definitely be missed but not forgotten.
Our sincere condolences.
Recently, we were informed of Father Ray’s death. We send our heartfelt condolences to all of his family. We were fortunate to know him for many years. He was a kind, joyful, friendly person and a wonderful priest. Father Ray visited the homebound in his parish. It was a frequent event for George & Sis Mack. We appreciated his many visits for their spiritual support, as we live in Maryland.
With sincere sympathy,
George & Gae Mack
3920 Minden Road
Silver Spring, MD 20906
THE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS & EMPLOYEES OF MAIN STREET BANK CORP. EXTEND OUR SINCERE SYMPATHY TO THE FAMILY AND COMMUNITY OF FATHER RAY.
WE WILL MISS YOU.
WE WILL MISS HIM A LOT
I REMEMBER ALL THE TIMES
HE WAS AT OUR LADY OF PEACE SCHHOL.
I REMEMBER EVERYDAY I WAS WALKING DOWN TO MY LOCKER HE WOULD ALWAYS SAY THERE IS KIRBY GARY.
HE WOULD ALWAYS HAVE A SMILE ON HIS FACE .
HE KNEW EVERYONE’S NAME THAT WAS IN MY CLASS.
EVERYONE WAS SAD TO HEAR THAT FR. RAY PASSED AWAY.
WE ALL WENT INTO THE CHURCH
AND THEN MRS.REALLY
WHEN SHE SAID THAT FR. RAY PASSED AWAY WE ALL CRYED.
I HAVE A PICTURE OF HIM AND ME AT MY FIRST COMMANDON.
REST IN PEACE FR.RAY
LOVE KIRBY GARY
We all will miss Father Ray.
From Kirby Gary
WE ALL WILL MISS HIM.
We express our sincere sympathies to Ray’s brothers and Barbara. Ray left a true legacy and died much too young. He had a beautiful voice. Everytime I hear “We Three Kings”, I think of Ray singing it our Freshman year. Ray and I were classmates at Donahue and he drove me to WJU for our first year there. We attended his first mass in 1968, right before we moved to New Mexico. We have remained friends through the years with letters and cards, and a few reunions. What beautiful handwriting he had. The last card I received was from his recent trip to EWTN and he asked me to pray for him for his hernia surgery. Little did I think I would not see him again. I so regret we can not make the funeral, but we will visit his grave when we visit WV in late October. We finally got him to visit Bill and I in Albuquerque two years in a row, along with Fr. Pat. I will always remember Ray lying in our guest bed, reading his office every night. What fun we had, seeing New Mexico, the Grand Canyon, Standing on 4 Corners, visiting Durango CO and riding in a hot air balloon. Fr Pat wanted to go up, but Ray said he was afraid to go but would go if I did. I was afraid too, but decided it was very comforting to go standing between two priests. Ray was so much fun to be around. He and Fr. Pat said a home mass in ABQ for us and our friends. We had a large cook-out and Protestant and Catholics alike immediately fell in love with Fr Ray. Bill Cox, gave him an expensive cowboy hat off his head and Ray wore it back home. When we received the news yesterday, we had to call many people in Albuquerque to tell them of Ray’s passing. We are in shock, but know he is in heaven, and I imagine making everyone there laugh. I hope he will pray for all the friends he left behind.
With love, Carol Adamiak Yarnall and Bill Yarnall
We had 4 sons that graduated from Bishop Donahue,the youngest, BJ became a very close friend with Father Ray. They traveled down state together many times. BJ now lives in FL. with his wife & 2 daughters. He is very upset about Father Ray’s passing. Father Ray left us especially BJ with many HAPPY MEMORIES! God Bless HIM.Love & Prayers to your family. The Bob Balgo Family
We send the Jablinske family our deepest sympathy. Carolyn is a third cousin. Her mother, Helen Smrek Kopson were cousins.
Love, Dave & Carolyn