“He believed in God, family and country.”

“He was very hard working and very loving,” said Eric Stevenson, grandson of George R. Karabin. Karabin was a church and community leader who died Feb. 9 in Bethlehem, his hometown. Stevenson and about 40 other relatives and friends gathered in the gymnasium on the campus of St. Anne Catholic Church May 12 where Father Anthony Mongiello led a ceremony naming the gym after the man who all have credited with being the leading force for its construction in 2001. “We spent a lot of time together,” reminisced Karabin’s grandson, the son of Debbie, Karabin’s daughter. “We worked on his land. We would work hard and would be sweating. He taught me to take pride in what I do.” “George was a leader in getting support for the gym,” said Fr. Mongiello in remarks to the gathering seated in the wooden bleachers of the gym. “He was a leader in the fundraising. It’s very appropriate to dedicate this gym after George.” Fred DeBellis remembered the night that Karabin got the ball rolling on the gym project. “He was the president of the Catholic Youth Organization. He got up in a meeting and made an impassioned plea for a gym,” said DeBellis. “He saw the project through to completion.” Karabin spent his life in the service of others, especially in the service of young people. He initiated sports programs for the Catholic Youth Organization; he served as the president of the Bethlehem Catholic Booster Club and was treasurer of the Northeast Little League. While church life was integral to his world, he found time to serve his country during World War II, serve his city as Bethlehem City Councilman, and serve the Bethlehem Area School District on the Board of Education. “He was one of the kindest, nicest guys I ever met,” said Jim Broughal in an interview when asked about his friend. Broughal said he first knew Karabin when they both served on the Bethlehem Area School District Board of Education. “He was a very giving guy; he always served his community.” “He would visit people when they were sick,” remember one friend. “Dad always loved to see kids play sports,” said Drew Karabin, his youngest son. “He was just a good guy.” After the brief ceremony in the gym, Fr. Mongiello led the group to the entry vestibule where a young man removed a curtain over a plaque naming the building after George Karabin. “He was a kind-hearted, decent person of great integrity,” said Robert Donchez in a recent interview. Donchez is a past president and current member of the Bethlehem City Council. “He was a person of deep faith and conviction. He was very active in CYO and church, city government, and Bethlehem Catholic High School. “He believed in God, family and country,” said Donchez.