Joe ’70 and Rosemary (Jereb ’68) McCormack

A physical push from a friend was God’s way of setting Joe ’70 and Rosemary (Jereb ’68) McCormack down the path of their vocation of marriage and service together.

Joe was an Ohio Valley boy from Mingo Junction who worked in the steel mills on summer breaks. He started seminary, but it was not his calling. When visiting the College of Steubenville, he ran into Father Michael Scanlan, TOR, then dean, and shared his desire to transfer from seminary.

“Father Scanlan then told me, ‘You will go see the Admissions guy on Monday, and he will take care of you,’ and he did!”

Joe’s passion for literature and writing drove him to major in English, but it was in French class where he met Rosemary. She had come to Steubenville from Cleveland to study education in a small Catholic college environment. In the scramble for seats, a friend of Joe’s muscled past him to get to a desk on the edge of the room, leaving the open spot next to Rosemary as the only option.

Laughing, Joe recalls, “If I had made it over to the other empty seat I was aiming for, it may not have happened.”

After graduation and marriage, they moved to the Cleveland area. Joe earned his master’s in English from John Carroll University and taught for 36 years in the Cleveland Heights School System.They were blessed with three children, Mary Beth, Sarah, and Matthew. Mary Beth is the assistant principal at a Montessori School, Sarah is a forest ranger, and Matthew is a glass artist.

The ongoing National Eucharistic Revival is particularly meaningful for the McCormacks.Their parish is staffed by the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, a group founded by St. Peter Julian Eymard. Both Joe and Rosemary are Associates of the Blessed Sacrament.

“It’s comparable to the Third Order Regular for the Franciscans. We are lay men and women committed to making the Eucharist known and loved in the world.”

Joe has lived out this commitment over the past year by writing eucharistic reflections for the Center for Eucharistic Evangelization.

“It’s a way I’m able to use my talents and skills gained from my career to draw others to this crucial and beautiful part of our faith as part of their daily prayer.”

When not visiting with their children and grandchildren or serving their parish, Joe and Rosemary are avid gardeners and love God’s gift of plants and flowers.