Parish Council

I grew up in Wooster and have been a member of St. Mary's for several years.

I graduated from Archbishop Hoban High School in 2019 and then attended Walsh University.  I started working at the Wooster Post Office in 2021 and have been there since.

I am a member of the core team as well as being involved with the young adult group at the parish.  I look forward to the opportunity to serve on the parish council and to continue to grow in my faith.

My name is Shaun Cannon, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to serve on the St. Mary's Parish Council.  I was born and raised in Wooster, Ohio.  Growing up in Wooster I attended St. Mary Church, St. Mary School, and Wooster High School.  I completed my bachelor's and master's degree at Tiffin University in Criminal Justice.

After college, I became a Military Police Officer and was stationed in Fort Polk, LA.  I did a year deployment to Bagdad, Iraq in 2005-2006.  For the past 15 years, I have been a Special Agent Criminal Investigator for the US Secret Service and now the Office of Inspector General USPS.

I am married to my beautiful wife Courtney.  We have four children, Karson, Kara, Kinley, and Kash, aging from 5 months to 16 years.  We recently moved to Wooster in 2021 from Stonewall, Louisiana.  My faith and family are important to me.  I enjoy being a part of That Man Is You (TMIY) group at St. Mary's and recommend it to any male looking for fellowship.  I am excited to be a part of the Parish Council and pray I can help grow the future of St. Mary's Church.

Hi. I am David Coppola and I feel privileged to be considered to serve on St. Mary’s Parish Council and pray that I can contribute to my church Family.

I was born and raised in Wooster, Ohio and attended St. Mary’s Immaculate Conception Church and St. Mary’s School through 6th grade.  Except for the 12 years that I lived in South Texas after graduating from college in 1980, I have been here most of my life. I grew up in the immediate neighborhood and St. Mary’s Family has always been a big part of mine and my Family’s life.

I am a member of the Knights of Columbus and have been a member of the TMIY group from its beginning with the Parish. I am looking forward to renewing this fellowship again due to the COVID pandemic and other health related issues. I have also served as a sponsor of RCIA candidates coming into the Catholic faith.

I currently live outside Orrville, Ohio with my wife Robin and have two daughters and a new Son-in-Law. Jenna and Dillion just got married and are living in South Carolina and Brittney is finishing up her master’s degree in Clinical Psychology at KSU this year. I currently work for Johnson Controls as a Project Manager. I have been working in the fire alarm division for over 30 years. I am looking forward to joining the Parish counsel and serve in any capacity they see fit.

My name is Cheryl Davis and first of all, thank you for this opportunity to join our Saint Mary Parish Pastoral Council. I was raised as an Episcopalian and converted to the Catholic faith during my junior year in college in 1972 after getting to know a group of incredibly well-grounded Catholic raised women. My husband Rick and I were married in 1973 in the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Richmond, VA and were blessed with 2 children who are married, have their own families, and now live out-of-state.

As sometimes happens, we left the Catholic faith in early 80’s but through the Catholics Returning Home program, the Holy Spirit led us here to St. Mary’s where I have found amazing opportunities to grow and thrive. I have learned much about our faith through the Adult Faith Formation programs, our church and its variety of ministries, through my bulletin preparation work, my regular scheduled Adoration, St. Vincent de Paul home visits outreach, individual and church sponsored retreats, and weekly small church Gospel study groups. But most important to my own faith journey has been the unending prayers, concerns and support from our parishioners and my co-workers as I dealt with several health situations.

After 9 years here at St. Mary, I am looking forward to joining the Parish Council and with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, representing you and your families through the council’s work. Your prayers and inputs are always welcome!

My name is Christine Grande. I am a cradle Catholic, growing up, educated and received the sacraments here.  After college I moved to Dallas and joined St. Pius X Parish where I became a Eucharistic minister, lector and took Jesus to those unable to attend Mass and weekly Adoration.   My background is in Mortgage Banking, owner of Executive Home Lending. 

In 2012 I returned to Wooster and once again participated in the same things, participated with the Gabriel Project.  I am now involved with the St. Vincent de Paul ministry as a Home Visitor which as been very beneficial, spiritually. I love my faith and am absolutely looking forward to the opportunity to serve St. Mary and all our parishioners by becoming a member of the Parish Council.

My name is Keith Hodkinson.  My wife, Kathy and I moved back to Wooster in September of 2021 after living in Alabama since 2017. Before our move to Alabama, Kathy and I were long-time residents in Wooster and members of St. Mary's. We met in October 2009, little did I know at that time, our meeting would have us be married in February 2011 then I was confirmed Catholic at the Easter vigil in 2012 at St. Mary's.

 I am blessed to be able to attend a vibrant St. Mary parish and all it has to over everyone in their faith journey and spiritual growth.  In the past, I was part of the youth group core team, teaching and assisting high school confirmation class. Kathy and I are currently working with the core teams for the Dan Burke retreat in April and the youth group retreat in May. 

 I would like to continue to give back to the St. Mary community by becoming a member of parish council. I hope and pray my efforts would continue to strengthen the ministries and offerings St. Mary's has to offer everyone in their faith journey. Peace be with you all. Thank you.

My name is Terrie Koch. I have been married to Tom since 1985. I have 2 children. Andrew lives in Seattle Washington with his wife Navya, and Taylor lives in Columbus. I have been a member of St Mary most of my life except for the brief times I lived in Fargo, North Dakota and Poland, Ohio.  I have worked at Cleveland Clinic as a Registered nurse for almost 30 years. 

I have volunteered my time at St Mary in the past teaching PSR and as a parish nurse. I currently am involved with jail and prison ministry, a member of the Catholic Commission of Wayne Ashland and Medina County and a Eucharistic minister for Wooster Community Hospital. 

Hello, I'm Peter O'Donnell and pleased to be considered for the St. Mary Parish Council.  

My wife, Carolyn, and I moved to Wooster over six years ago.  I am the chief financial officer for Buehler's Fresh Foods from the time they became employee owned.  We greatly enjoy being part of the parish.  Carolyn and I have participated in many of the missions, adult faith formation events, and we were the co-chairpersons for the successful "Heart of the Shepard" campaign.

We are originally from St. Louis, but have lived in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. We have been married 40 years and have three married daughters.  Two of whom went to Ohio State and met their spouses there.  Go Bucks!  We have four grandchildren and one due in May.

I am on the board for People to People.  Since 2019 I have participated in That Man Is You ("TIMIY") and it was a faith-changing experience that I encourage men of any age to attend.  I am an officer in our Knights of Columbus.  I made new friends through the Knights and we raise money for the Pregnancy Care Center and St. Vincent de Paul.

I look forward to serving the parish as a member of the council. 

My name is Drew Paul.  I moved back to Wooster in December 2021, after a 21-year-plus journey.  I always planned on having a big Catholic family.  But God had other plans for me.  I live in the northeast part of town with my dog Charlize.

Born in Lake Forest, IL, my parents had me baptized at St. James in Arlington Heights, IL.  My family moved to Wooster when I was 6.  I attended St. Mary School grades 1-6.  While growing up in Wooster, I celebrated a first communion, did a first reconciliation, and confirmed my faith at St. Mary.  I graduated from Wooster High School in 1988.  I graduated from the University of Dayton and continued working on my MBA through the American University-Kogod School of Business.

While away from Wooster, I attended mass and supported St. Joseph's Old Cathedral in Oklahoma City, OK, Rosary Cathedral in Toledo, OH, St. John the Evangelist in Naples, FL, and St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Tampa, FL.  I volunteered to coach boys' and girls' tennis for Tampa Catholic High School.

Coming back to St. Mary makes me feel at home.  My three best friends - really brothers - grew-up with me at St. Mary and in Wooster.  They too moved home and belong to our parish.

By vocation, I have 28 years of experience as a business leader and retirement planner.  I have my own financial services practice.  I serve as Treasurer on the Wooster BNoys and Girls Club Board of Directors.  I play bridge with the Wooster Duplicate Bridge Club and in the American Contract Bridge League.  I have a lifetime membership to the United States Tennis Association. 

I feel privileged to serve on our parish council!  I will endeavor to meet as many of you as I can and I pray that I have the grace to listen to all perspectives.

Hello,, My name is Sharon Smigielski.  My husband Norm and I are recent transplants to the Wooster area, moving here two years ago after 40 years of living in southwest Ohio where we raised our five children. We found our new church home here at St. Mary’s and have enjoyed being a part of the parish family.

I grew up in Tiffin, attending St. Joseph Elementary and Calvert High; I then obtained a journalism degree from the University of Toledo. Over the course of time, I worked for several newspapers, before beginning service with the Ohio Department of Transportation as a public information officer and administrative assistant.

After retirement from our respective jobs, we elected to move here as our youngest remained in the area to marry after she completed her studies at ATI. It was an easy decision as the older four had relocated to other parts of the country. Also, because we are both natives of northwest Ohio, we wanted to live a little closer to family members who still reside there.

I look forward to being on Parish Council and it’s my prayerful hope that my service will be fruitful for the families of St. Mary’s.

My name is Carla Veil, and my family and I have been members of the parish since moving to Wooster in 2018 when my husband, Jason, accepted the position as curator of the Secrest Arboretum.  I began teaching at St. Mary and am currently the STEM Coordinator for the school.  I am finishing my Masters in Educational Leadership and Administration in May 2024, and after teaching for 20 years, am looking to make a bigger impact in the field of education.

My husband and I have been married for 22 years and have four children, ages 19, 18, 16, and 13.  The two eldest, Ethan and Elliot, are attending OSU and my daughter, Evie, is in the nursing program at the Career Center with the intent to continue at OSU in another year.  Faith is our youngest and attends St. Mary School.

I was raised Methodist near Lancaster, PA, and converted to the Catholic faith after meeting my husband in college at PSU, attending Mass with him, and finding a stronger faith through the Catholic Church.  We have raised our children Catholic and sought out Catholic Education upon our family moves to York, PA, Worcester, MA, and here to Wooster, Ohio.  I value the opportunity to serve our community through the Parish Council and pray that I am able to make a meaningful contribution. 

My name is Dan Widman and I was born in Tiffin, Ohio, raised on our family’s farm, and was provided with many opportunities to read, learn, reflect, and work.

I graduated from the University of Toledo with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and earned an MBA with a focus in operations management from Tiffin University. I was active in the Newman Club in college, and there met my wife of nearly twenty years. We have four children ages eight through fourteen, three of whom currently attend St. Mary’s school.

My work at Schaeffler in the management accounting area led us to move to Wayne County in 2006. I currently work as a Financial Planning and Analysis Manager for Artiflex. I enjoy working behind the scenes to support and strengthen my colleagues. Data and numbers create stories and narratives, and I like sharing the insights gained with my business partners.

I have been an active member of the St. Mary Community for nearly seventeen years. I strive to be helpful and I look forward to the opportunity to better understand where we are today as a faith community. I hope to aid in cultivating the vision of where we need to grow, further develop our plans to get there, and help ensure those in leadership positions have the necessary resources to fulfill their duties.