Father Dennis Stevenson
Funeral Mass for Father Dennis E. Stevenson, 67, who died Saturday, Nov. 13, was celebrated Friday, Nov. 19 at Columbus Christ the King Church. Burial was at St. Joseph Cemetery, Columbus.
He was born on Feb. 12, 1954 in Lancaster to Robert and Edith (Leohner) Stevenson.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and education from Capital University in 1977, then taught for several years in public schools. He was baptized in the Lutheran Church as an infant but was drawn to the Catholic faith and became a fully initiated member of the Roman Catholic Church on April 18, 1981 at Christ the King Church.
He completed his seminary formation at Mount St. Mary of the West Seminary in Cincinnati in 1988 and was ordained on June 11 of that year at Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral by Bishop James Griffin. He earned a licentiate in canon law from the Catholic University of America in 1993.
Since 1989, he served in many capacities with the diocesan Tribunal while balancing these responsibilities with pastoral ministry in the parishes where he was assigned or resided. These included Worthington St. Michael, Columbus St. Andrew, Columbus St. Aloysius and Christ the King churches.
He is survived by his brothers Mark (Renita) and Robert (Lora), five nieces and a nephew.
Father James A. Nicolicchia, OP
Funeral Mass for Father James A. Nicolicchia, OP, 89, who died Tuesday, Nov. 16 at the Mohun Health Care Center in Columbus, was celebrated Monday, Nov. 22 at Columbus St. Patrick Church. Burial was at St. Joseph Cemetery, Somerset.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York on March 2, 1932, to the late James and Caroline (Panebiano) Nicolicchia. He graduated from Nutley (New Jersey) High School in 1951 and served in the U.S. Navy in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean from 1951 to 1955.
He enrolled in Providence (Rhode Island) College as a preparatory student of the Dominican order of priests in 1956 and entered the novitiate at St. Joseph Priory in Somerset in 1958, receiving the religious name Andrew. He was simply professed on Aug. 16, 1959, studied philosophy at St. Stephen Priory in Dover, Massachusetts from 1959 to 1962, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Providence College and studied theology at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., from 1962 to 1966.
He was solemnly professed as a Dominican on Aug. 16, 1962 and was ordained a priesthood on June 10, 1965 at St. Dominic Church in Washington by Auxiliary Bishop William McDonald of Washington.
He served in parish ministry at St. Dominic Church, Youngstown and at churches in New York, Michigan and New Jersey and St. Dominic Church in Washington. In 2015, he moved to the Dominican Center for Assisted Living in Washington, where he lived until coming to Columbus a few months ago.
Richard D. “Dick” Finn Jr.
Funeral Mass for Richard D. “Dick” Finn Jr., 88, who died Tuesday, Nov. 16, was celebrated Monday, Nov. 22 at Columbus Our Lady of Peace Church.
He was born on March 12, 1933 in Lima to Richie and Dorothy Finn. He graduated from Lima St. Rose High School and Ohio State University, where he was a pitcher and captain on the 1955 Big Ten Conference championship baseball team. He also earned a master’s degree from the University of Toledo.
He taught and coached at Toledo Central Catholic and Toledo Woodward high schools, was head baseball coach at the University of Toledo from 1964 to 1969, then returned to Ohio State as an assistant coach in 1969. He was the Buckeyes’ head coach from 1976 to 1987 and his teams compiled a record of 310-262-4 overall and 92-99 in Big Ten play.
He was inducted into several halls of fame, volunteered for many organizations and was honored by the Shamrock Club of Columbus as its 1993 Irish Man of the Year.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife of 60 years, Bea. Survivors include seven children, 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
John J. Hollern
Funeral Mass for John J. Hollern, 74, who died Thursday, Nov. 11, was celebrated Saturday, Nov. 20 at Columbus St. Matthias Church.
He was born in Columbus on Dec. 28, 1946 to the late James and Mary Hollern and was a graduate of Columbus Aquinas High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Leo (Florida) College and a Master of Science degree in guidance and counseling at Ohio State University.
He began his career in education as a teacher and coach at Columbus St. Christopher School (now Trinity Elementary School) and was employed by the Columbus City Schools system for more than 35 years, teaching math and social studies and coaching softball, track and soccer. He served on the Woodward Park advisory board and was a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Survivors include his wife, Tarie (Brigham); daughters, Laura (Scott) Thorne and Julie (David) Lombardo; and five granddaughters.
Marcia A. Troiano
Marcia A. Troiano, 80, a former teacher at Hilliard St. Brendan School, died Monday, Sept. 20 in Las Vegas.
She graduated from Vandergrift (Pennsylvania) High School, received a Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Seton Hill College in Greensburg, Pennsylvania and did postgraduate studies at Ohio State University.
She taught science at St. Brendan School for 25 years and organized annual science fairs, and her students received honors at state competitions. She received a national Golden Apple Award for teaching from Ashland Inc.
Survivors include her husband, Dr. Marlin Troiano; daughters, Laura Troiano and Jennifer (Dean) Breudigam; son, Dr. Tim Troiano (Donna Riggs); brother, Stephen; sisters, Jayne (Rick) Sulser and Mary Lee Rybar (Scot Hunter); and two grandsons.