Monsignor William G. Charnoki dedicated life to church, God and people

A man that dedicated his life to the church, God and people, the Rev. Monsignor William G. Charnoki is fondly remembered by family for his lifelong calling to the priest hood.
Monsignor died from late-stage liver cancer Aug. 15 at St. Anne Home, Greensburg, at age 77.
“What was always important to him was children and people,” said Charnoki’s brother, Andrew Charnoki of Tuscon, Arizona. “He always had a strong belief in God. He faced what he had to face and went through it.”
Andrew said that, although he and his brother lived miles apart, they remained close. “We never went more than two weeks without calling each other. He was a great man.”
Monsignor was a priest at the Diocese of Greensburg and recently celebrated 50 years of vocation.
He was ordained to the priesthood in 1965, at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, Greensburg, by the late Bishop William G. Connare.
According to Andrew, his brother knew he wanted to be a priest as a boy following in the footsteps of their two uncles who served in the Greensburg and Pittsburgh Diocese.
“Anytime we had a fish or a parakeet die, he held a funeral mass for them and put a towel on his back to simulate priesthood,” said Andrew of his brother.
Monsignor said in a July interview with The Catholic Accent that his connection with the church was natural in that way. “I’ve enjoyed all of my assignments,” he said. “Over the years, I’ve given advice to many people who are sick or suffering, and I’ve always told them to trust in the Lord.”
Monsignor was born in 1937 in Nemacolin, Greene County, and briefly attended All Saints School in Masontown. He graduated from Cumberland Township High School and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Saint Vincent College and M. Div. from Saint Vincent Seminary, both in Latrobe.
He also received a licentiate degree in canon law from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.
Monsignor served the diocese in many capacities, including assistant pastor of St. Mary (Nativity) Parish, Uniontown, and its former mission, St. Cecilia Parish, Lemont Furnace.
Additionally, he was pastor of the former St. Stanislaus Parish, Calumet; St. Mary Parish, Export; Holy Family Parish, Latrobe; St. Bernard of Clairvaux Parish, Indiana; and Holy Trinity Parish; Ligonier. He served as administrator pro tem of the former St. Louis Church, Lucerne Mines, and as administrator of the former St. Boniface Parish, Chestnut Ridge.
Other positions he held included assistant chancellor and diocesan secretary to Bishop Connare; judicial vicar of the Marriage Tribunal; a member of the Priests Council and Board of Consultors; and vicar forane of Deanery 4 in Westmoreland County, and Deanery 2 in Indiana and Armstrong counties.
He was named a domestic prelate with the title monsignor in 1986 and prothonotary apostolic supernumerary, the highest level of monsignor, in 2005, both by St. Pope John Paul II.
Monsignor was a member of the First Catholic Slovak Union, Branch 181, where he served as chaplain for many years in the George Onda District. He also served as chaplain for the Knights of Columbus, Daniel P. Nolan Council 940 of Latrobe, until his death.
He retired from active ministry in 2013 and received the Lifetime Achievement Award that year from St. Vincent Seminary.
In addition to his parents, Joseph J. and Mary E. (Ondrish) Charnoki, he was preceded in death by two brothers, John J. Charnoki and Joseph J. Charnoki, and two uncles, the Rev. Andrew Charnoki and the Rev. John Charnoki; also a cousin, Sister Christine Yurick, VSC.
Surviving him are Andrews, and his wife Faye; a sister-in-law, Cindy Charnoki of Phoenix, AZ; three nephews, and two great-nephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Aug. 19 at Holy Family Church, Latrobe, followed by interment at Greensburg Catholic Cemetery.