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Donald
Emil “Fr. Valerian Kanabaj,” Kanabay, 70, of St. Petersburg,
died Sunday (Jan. 19, 2003) at St. Anthony’s Hospital.
He came here in 1970 from his
native
Chicago, IL. He served in
the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division during the Korean War. After
attending Stenotype Institute of Chicago, he founded, with his
wife, Kanabay and Kanabay Court Reporters, and in 1967 won the
Illinois
speed championship.
After publishing two books he
moved his family to
Palma de Mallorca, Spain, in
1967, where he worked with the U.S. Consulate and ran a USO for
the Sixth Fleet in a flamenco nightclub.
In 1970, in
Washington,
D.C.
he reported top secret Capitol
Hill hearings.
In 1970
Governor Claude Kirk appointed him an Official Court Reporter for
the Sixth Judicial Circuit in
Florida, and in 1971 Governor
Reubin Askew approved his appointment.
Also known as
Father Valerian Kanabaj, he was an Orthodox Catholic priest and a
St. Petersburg Police Department Chaplain.
He is
survived by his wife of 46 years, Helen; and four daughters:
Sandra Kanabay Ambush; Theresa Simpson; Donna Kanabay Harvey; and
Catherine Naghitorabi, all of
St. Petersburg; and five
grandchildren.
Those
who wish may make contributions in his name to the Pinellas County
Law Enforcement Charities,
14450-46th
St. N., Suite 115,
Clearwater,
FL
33762,
(727)532-1722. |
