Justine A. Schwenk

- Justine “Jess” Ann Schwenk, 88, of Granville, OH passed comfortably Tuesday at 4:13 pm, February 07, 2023 at Mount Carmel East hospital in the company of loving family.

Justine was born in St. Clair, PA to John and Catherine Pouchan. She was their oldest daughter and the second of ten children. She was a 1952 graduate of Saint Clair High School and lived in St. Clair until she met and married Richard “Hank” E. Schwenk. Justine and Hank moved from Harrisburg, PA to Whitehall, OH in 1959 and eventually settled in at their Granville OH residence after Hank retired.

Justine was a loving mother of 8 children. She worked briefly at Lawson’s convenience store in Whitehall where she once fended off a robber. She retired from Grant Hospital where she worked for many years as a nurse’s aide and was everyone’s most requested aide.

Justine was an avid reader, always surrounded by a pile of books. She was well known for sending greeting cards to family members and beyond for any and all occasions, probably numbering in the thousands over the years. She loved to walk, usually around the neighborhood or at Blacklick Woods. Justine and Hank made annual family summer vacation trips to Grandma’s with the kids, and numerous cross country road trips after retiring.

Justine was a dedicated founding member of her church, St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church in Columbus. Her children loved her generous support of church bake sales, especially in recent years, as beneficiaries of the ‘goods’. Her Byzantine heritage extends to the Carpathian Mountain range and Ukraine, and she proudly flies the Ukrainian flag from her front porch in support of the Ukrainian people.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband of 57 years, her son Mark Schwenk, her daughter-in-law Phyllis Zink-schwenk, her grandchildren Jonathan and Amber Schwenk, her sister Monica Pouchan and brother Pete Pouchan.

Surviving are seven children; William (Jackie) Schwenk of Peoria IL, David Schwenk of Urbana IL, Catherine Guativa of Sandusky OH, Michael (Rosemin) Schwenk of Heath OH, Cynthia (Doug) Mair of Westerville OH, Susan Schwenk of Granville OH; and Richard (Patsy) Schwenk of New Holland OH.

Also surviving are seven siblings; John Pouchan, Mike (Arlene) Pouchan, Paula Pouchan, Mary Klemer, Dan (Katy) Pouchan, Adrian (Barbara) Pouchan, and Catherine (Tom) Hannick. Sister-in-law Joyce Dawkins also survives.

She is survived by 16 grandchildren, 19 great grandchildren and 1 greatgreat grandchild with one more on the way, along with 5 nephews, and 4 nieces.

Friends may call Thursday February 16th, from 5-8 p.m. at Newcomer Funeral Home, 3047 E. Dublin-granville Rd., Columbus, Ohio, with a Byzantine Parastas Service held at 7 p.m. On Friday there will be a 10 a.m. funeral liturgy at St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church, 5858 Cleveland Avenue, Columbus, OH followed by a procession to Holy Cross Cemetery in Etna Ohio for internment. In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift in Justine’s memory to St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church parking lot renovation project.

GRANVILLE