Home | St. Nicholas Orthodox Church

St. Nicholas Orthodox Church
Olyphant, Pennsylvania

A Parish of the Orthodox Church in America

| Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania

Orthodoxy in America | Parish Facebook Page

| Parish YouTube Channel

Welcome to Our Parish!

We are a parish of the Orthodox Church in America ministering to the Mid Valley area since 1904.

Great Vespers are held on Saturdays at 5:00PM

Divine Liturgy is held on Sundays at 9:30AM

All are welcome to join us for services. Please join us at coffee hour after the Sunday Divine Liturgy.

According to the ancient traditions of the Orthodox Church, the Sacrament of Holy Communion is to
be administered only to Orthodox Christians who have prepared themselves by prayer, fasting, and a
recent confession.

Links to our photo album and YouTube channel can be found under Photos and Videos.

Please check back for future updates!

We are on Facebook!

VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE!

Memory Eternal!

Joan Pelesh Lengel, 82, of Roaring Brook Twp. passed away on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 at Allied Services Hospice in Scranton. She was the widow of John Lengel, who passed away on July 28, 1996.

Born in Bayonne, NJ, she was the daughter of the late Very Rev. Gregory Pelesh and Matushka Dorothy (Krett) Pelesh. Graduating from Olyphant High School, Joan was the valedictorian earning 10 academic awards. She continued her education at Marywood University, where she earned her BA in English & Secondary Education, earned her MS from the University of Scranton in Secondary Education, Curriculum Development and Reading Specialist and did her doctoral studies at the U of S, Oxford University and Mundial World University.

Joan began her teaching career in 1967 as a reading and language specialist at North Pocono School District. During her time at in the classroom, she was award or honored by the Young Leaders of the World in Education, named Kappan of the Year by the Scranton Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, named Northeast Woman by the Scranton Times, named to Who's Who in American Education, named to Who's Who of Women in the World, honored with the Celebrate Literacy Award from the Keystone State Reading Association and was the first recipient of the Distinguished Educator of the Year in 2002 by North Pocono Education Association. She was also the reading coordinator at NP and an adjunct professor at Marywood. Although she retired in 2010, Joan never stopped teaching and more importantly learning.

Outside of the school building, Joan still used her time and talent to educate others. She was a co- founder and president of Northeastern PA Reading Association, was a regional director with Keystone Reading Association, founded an adopt a grandparent program, founded the Oral Reading Contest in NEPA and wrote test questions used on PA State Assessment tests.

Joan's love of traveling lead her to not only see the world, but enabled her to share her love of teaching on 4 different continents and in 18 cities in the sub continent of Asia. She also enjoyed floral design, making jewelry and calligraphy.

Joan is survived by her son: Gregory Lengel; her beloved canine friend: Wolfgang; her sisters in law: Diane Pelesh and Carol Pelesh and her 3 nephews and 1 niece. She was preceded in death by her brothers: Rev. Gregory Pelesh and Eugene Pelesh.

A viewing will be held on Friday, March 6 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at Brian Arthur Strauch Funeral Homes & Cremation Services, LLC, 3 First St. in Spring Brook Twp.

The funeral service will be held on Saturday, March 7 at 10:00 am in St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, 600 E. Lackawanna Ave. in Olyphant. Interment will follow in St. Tikhon’s Monastery Cemetery in South Canaan.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Tunnel to Towers Foundation, 2361 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10306. To share your fondest memories of Joan, please visit the funeral home's website or Facebook page.