June Pashia was a feisty little thing, topping out at no more than 5 feet, 1 inch, but she lived a big life in many ways.
“Her belief was that you have to make every day count,” said her daughter, Cathy Elliott, 56. “You have to be there for other people and help get them through.”
And Mrs. Pashia did just that, serving as a classroom teacher for many years, then as a certified Catholic chaplain.
“She understood suffering, understood pain, and she knew that was God’s plan,” her daughter said. “She never talked down to anybody, never pushed them. She walked the path alongside them and was able to communicate with people in a way they understood.”
Mrs. Pashia died Feb. 22 at age 75 after more than a decade of declining health.
She grew up in Festus and spent a lot of time with her grandmother as a young child.
“My great-grandmother taught her a lot, had a lot of influence on her life,” Cathy said. “They had a really special spiritual connection.”
Mrs. Pashia went to Sacred Heart School in Festus-Crystal City, then to Ursuline Academy near Kirkwood.
“She was a boarder there,” Cathy said. “She cleaned rooms and worked around the place to help pay her tuition. Apparently, there were several girls from the Festus area there.”
Some of them noticed young Francis “Bud” Pashia working at a gas station in Herculaneum, and drove by to catcall and tease him.
“My dad’s story was that he lined all these girls up and the one who could get to him the fastest would win,” Cathy said with a laugh. “As a little kid, I actually believed that was how he and my mom got married.”
Mrs. Pashia attended Fontbonne University and began her teaching career at Assumption School in Herculaneum when Cathy, the oldest of her three children, was a baby.
“She was there a short time, then went to Our Lady when it opened,” Cathy said. “When I was in second grade, she came to St. Joseph School (then in Kimmswick) and taught there many years. She also taught a very brief time at Sacred Heart.”
Mrs. Pashia also taught for some years at Most Precious Blood School in St. Louis, then came back to St. Joseph to be closer to home when her husband became ill.
She could occasionally be found shooting hoops on the playground.
“Although very short, she was a big basketball player,” Cathy said. “She was one of the high scorers for the Ursuline team. She just loved the game. She was one of those people who jumped in the air and just seemed to hang there, suspended – I never understood how she could do that.”
A former student told Cathy, “Your mom was so short, but we thought she was 10 feet tall.”
“She carried a whistle, and all she had to do was blow that and everybody stopped in their tracks,” Cathy said. “Stories like these are wonderful, and they’ve just started just coming out of the woodwork.”
Once she retired from teaching, Mrs. Pashia pursued what had been a longtime dream: becoming a Catholic chaplain.
“She had taken classes all her life,” Cathy said. “It (the certification) is a pretty grueling process; not everyone can pass the chaplaincy. But she came through with flying colors; she managed to pass on the first go-round.”
Mrs. Pashia ministered to individuals and families dealing with a wide variety of issues.
“She worked at the hospital on Arsenal, at the VA hospital, at St. Mary’s, at Deaconness,” Cathy said. “She would go from place to place, being there with people. If people were dying, she would be with the families, pray with them, help guide them.
“We’ve heard amazing things about how she spoke to people.”
Cathy said her mother’s faith was the cornerstone of her ministry.
“She had been searching for something in her life. At an early age she found strength through prayer,” she said. “There was a nun at Sacred Heart who helped her through some tough times, and she felt terrific guidance and peace through her faith.”
That faith helped her when she had health problems of her own to deal with.
“The last 15 years, she had lots of physical challenges,” Cathy said. “She had surgeries – back, neck, carpal tunnel, open heart. She ended up being on dialysis for the last two years, which is extremely hard on your body and on your mind. She never complained once.
“It got to the point where she said, ‘No more doctors. No more hospitals,’ and she went peacefully. She was in control – it was her spirituality and faith that were driving things.”
In typical fashion, Mrs. Pashia left behind well-organized, detailed instructions for her funeral.
“She wants her wake and her Mass to be a celebration,” her daughter said. “It won’t be sad or depressing. She even had the program all typed up, and a note for me with details. She’s going to get what she wants.”
Cathy said her mother will be remembered for her deep faith, her loving nature and her zest for life.
“I didn’t know anybody who didn’t absolutely love her,” she said. “She wasn’t your typical person. She was very special. She wasn’t a gloom-and-doom person; she wanted everybody to enjoy life.”
“Life Story,” posted each Saturday on Leader Publications’ website, focuses on one individual’s impact on his or her community.