PARISH OF THE NEW ENGLAND DIOCESE OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA
Sadie, Clara, Lena, Olga, and John Sawchik
Sadie Sophie (Sawchik) Patrick, 82, died in Claremont, NH, on October 31, 2007. She was born on March 7, 1925, in Claremont, the daughter of Ignas and Anna (Cemel) Sawchik. She had three sisters and one brother.
Sadie married John Fred Patrick in Claremont on October 3, 1953, but they later divorced. She had one son, Stephen J. Patrick, who predeceased her.
Sadie was an active member of the HROC and its Sisterhood, helping in fundraising, food and rummage sales. She was stricter with kids than other parishioners, but kids didn’t hold a grudge against her.
Burial was in Mountain View cemetery. Memory eternal, Sadie!
Clara Vera (Sawchik) Taft, 78, died in Claremont, NH, on May 3, 2000. She was born on January 8, 1922, in Claremont, the daughter of Ignas and Anna (Cemel) Sawchik. She had three sisters and one brother.
She married William V. Haurilick on June 1, 1941, in Claremont, but they later divorced.
She married Earl W. Taft in 1972. Clara had many friends, sang in the HROC choir, and liked to clean and cook for church events.
She was survived by her husband. Burial was in Mountain View cemetery.
Memory eternal, Clara!
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Lena (Sawchik) Kissel, 74, died at Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont, NH, on December 15, 1992, after a long illness. She was born on December 13, 1918, in Claremont, the daughter of Ignas and Anna (Cemel) Sawchik. She had three sisters and one brother.
She graduated from Stevens High School in 1937 and Concord Business College. She was a lifelong resident of Claremont and was employed as a waitress for several area restaurants for many years. She was a member of the Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, its parish council, and its choir. She was also a member of the Senior Congress Park Tenants Association.
She married Walter Samuel Kissel in Claremont on May 19, 1940, but they divorced on October 18, 1946.
She married James Oliver Jutras Jr in Claremont on March 7, 1959, but they later divorced.
Between the HROC parishioners, Lena was known for being meticulous in everything she did for the church: painting, cooking, sewing, singing in the choir, etc. For example, she used a toothbrush and q-tips to clean every nook and cranny. In the course of the years, singing in the choir, she went through all the parts—from soprano to bass but, unfortunately, not from nature but from smoking Camel cigaretts. Regardless that she was a friendly and kind person. Memory eternal, dear Lena!
She was predeceased by sister Olga Sawchik and brother John Sawchik.
Surviving were daughter Sonya Kissel of Walpole, NH, and two sisters Sadie Patrick and Clara Taft, both of Claremont.
Burial was in Mountain View cemetery. Memory eternal, dear Lena!
Olga Sawchik, 70, died in Claremont, NH, on November 1, 1990. She was born on November 11, 1920, in Claremont, the daughter of Ignas and Anna (Cemel) Sawchik.
She had three sisters and one brother.
She was never married. Probably because she didn’t have time for dating, her family and fellow HROC parishioners nicknamed her “Go-go” for always being in a hurry and pressing others to move quicker. She was a faithful parishioner, a choir member, and a hard worker in all church events.
Burial was in Mountain View cemetery. Memory eternal, Gogo!
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John Sawchik, 58, died at his apartment of an apparent heart attack in Claremont, NH, on May 27, 1986. He was born on March 10, 1928, in Claremont, the son of Ignas and Anna (Cemel) Sawchik. He was the last of the siblings to be born and the first one to go.
He served in the U.S. Army from March 9, 1951, to February 22, 1953. He lived in Florida for seven years and lived in Claremont for most of his life. He retired from Claremont Flock Co in 1972.
He married Catherine Beebe, but they later divorced.
Survivors included two sons, John and Michael, both of Claremont, and four sisters Lena Kissell, Olga Sawchik, Clara Taft, and Sadie Patrick, all of Claremont.
Burial was in Mountain View cemetery. Memory eternal, John!
Note from a Friend
Lee Browne
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Clara Taft told us she grew up in a family with five children here in Claremont. She had two sisters who also went to the Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church. They are Lena Kissel and Olga Sawchik. Sawchik is their family name. Their parents, Ignas and Anna, came from Grinevichi village near Minsk, Belarus, in 1912 and married in 1914. They were members of the HROC and its Brotherhood and Sisterhood Organizations.
Ignas and Anna ran a grocery store here in Claremont on Main Street for 20 years. Their children always helped in the market, and they worked to help support the family, not for pay. The family didn't have any extra money. That's why they didn't have photographs from those days—because cameras were too expensive. As you headed out of town [toward I-91], their market was located on the left, immediately after the Sugar River Bridge. [There is a parking lot now where the Sawchik store had been.]
Clara told us how her parents spoke Russian at home, and the children learned English at school. Eventually, the children came home and taught the parents "what was what." The children so feared teachers and principals that they missed school days only if they were sent home sick. Clara said she had her first paid job after her marriage, and her salary was 25 cents per hour. Clara also remembered going to the movie theater for 10 cents. In those days, movies were silent, and someone played the piano while the film continued. Clara and her husband lived on Sugar River Drive, just outside Claremont, on the road to Unity. Clara had a daughter and one granddaughter.
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