Matushka Eva Balevich, 89, passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of July 13, 2025, in her childhood home in South Canaan, PA. She was the beloved widow of Archpriest Svetislav Balevich and proud mother of two sons, Nick and Igor.
Matushka Eva was born April 3, 1936, in South Canaan, PA, the fifth child of Peter and Katherine (Jubinsky) Lazorack. The Lazorack family lived just down the dirt road from Saint Tikhon’s Monastery and regularly attended services together, fostering in Matushka a lifelong dedication to her faith and to Saint Tikhon’s.
Matushka graduated from Lake Ariel High School and Kutztown State College and later received a Master of Arts degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. Following her graduate studies, Matushka served as Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Kutztown State College.
Matushka Eva met Svetislav while he was studying at Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan. They were married in June of 1967 and soon after moved to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where Father Svetislav was assigned to the Holy Trinity Church. Together, they faithfully served the church community until his retirement in 2002. Moose Jaw was also where Father Svetislav and Matushka raised their two sons, Nick and Igor, and where Matushka worked as a schoolteacher, sharing her enthusiasm for teaching and mathematics. Although the family lived in Canada for over 30 years, Matushka Eva maintained strong ties with her family in Pennsylvania, bringing her sons to visit the family home every summer.
Shortly after Archpriest Balevich’s passing in 2003, Matushka Eva returned to her family home in South Canaan where she spent the next 22 years surrounded by her family. There, she devoted herself to tending her garden and once again attending services at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery, just as she had in her youth. In later years, she cherished visits from her granddaughters, Natalie and Ella, showing them the garden, introducing them to her chickens, and preparing meals made with fresh food grown on the farm.
Matushka Eva will be remembered for her gift of conversation, her love of storytelling, and her joy in sharing favorite passages from the Bible. She had a way of making everyone feel welcome, filling the family home with warmth, laughter, and faith. Her deep commitment to her family and her unwavering devotion to God were at the heart of everything she did.
In addition to her sons, Nicholas Balevich (Brenda) of Lake Mary, FL, and Igor Balevich (Emily) of Darien, CT, Matushka Eva is survived by her beloved brother Metro Lazorack (Marilyn) of Harrisonburg, VA, and South Canaan, PA, and her beloved sister Sophia Burkhardt, who lived with Eva in the family home during the last few years of Eva’s life. She is also survived by her granddaughters Natalie and Ella Balevich of Darien, CT, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, Peter and Katherine Lazorack; her brother, John Lazorack; her sister, Anne Chernushin; and her nephew, Peter Lazorack.
Friends may call Thursday, July 17, 2025, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery Church. Funeral services will be held Friday, July 18, 2025, at 10:30 AM at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery Church. Interment will follow at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery Cemetery.
May Matushka Eva’s memory be eternal!