Barbara (Gorodovich) Drillock, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin, and faithful servant of the Church, fell asleep in the Lord on June 9, 2026, at the age of 86. She was born October 15, 1939, in Flushing, NY, to Rita (Timoshuk) and Anthony Gorodovich.
A proud New Yorker through and through, Barbara loved growing up in Queens and working in the city, and those roots stayed with her all her life. As a young woman, she worked in the payroll department at Equitable Life supporting senior leadership. After marrying her husband David Drillock in 1962, Prof. Sergius Verhovskoy, Provost at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY, asked Barbara to leave her job in Manhattan and come work alongside her husband at the Seminary. Without hesitation, she agreed, never looked back, and devoted the rest of her career to serving the Church. For 42 years she served as receptionist, in account receivables, kitchen manager, and organizer of special events.
Her devotion to the Seminary was exemplified in small ways every day — whether it was multiple trips a week to Costco to save the Seminary money on groceries, cleaning areas as if they were her own home, or quietly making sure every student, guest, and visiting clergyman left the Seminary’s table well fed. She never hesitated to help, and she watched over the community with fierce devotion, care, and love.
In grateful recognition of many years of dedicated service to the ministry of theological education at St. Vladimir’s Seminary and with gratitude for their untiring commitment to the life and mission of the Orthodox Church in America, Barbara and Dave received the Gramota from the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America on March 17, 2004.
Guided always by her deep faith, Barbara loved God, the Church, and her family. She cherished every moment with her husband Dave, her children, and her grandchildren. She was so proud of the many “olive shoots around their table,” and she thanked God for the blessing of seeing all her children’s children.
Together, she and Dave treasured their small extended family in Queens, Pennsylvania, and Virginia Beach, and over the years their hearts embraced a wider one — the countless classmates, students, professors, staff and their families who studied and worked at the Seminary, and who are a second family to them and their children.
Barbara is survived by her husband of 63 years, David Drillock; her son Gregory (Laurie); her daughter Pani Daria Loposky (Fr. Stephen); her daughter Kyra Kirtyan (Steve); and her son Andrew (Victoria). She also leaves behind 16 grandchildren: Gregory, Jack, Samuel, Ryan, Joshua, Lauren, Stephen, Nicholas, Megan, Anna, Erin, Preston, Alexander, Carter, Lincoln, and Savannah. She was preceded in death by her parents, her granddaughter Kathryn, and her brother-in-law Serge.
Visitation will be held at Three Hierarchs Chapel at St. Vladimir’s Seminary (575 Scarsdale Rd., Crestwood, NY 10707) on Friday, June 12 from 3:00 PM to 6:30 PM, followed by the Funeral Service at 7:00 PM. The Memorial Divine Liturgy followed by Panikhida will be at Three Hierarchs Chapel on Saturday, June 13 at 9:00 AM. Interment will be at St. Tikhon’s Cemetery in South Canaan, PA at approximately 3:30 PM.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made in Barbara’s memory to St. Vladimir’s Seminary.
May Barbara’s memory be eternal!