Amelia E. Botean, 92, of Plain Township, reposed peacefully in the Lord on July 2, following a brief illness, with her sons at her side. Born March 20, 1929, in Beech Bottom, West Virginia, she spent her childhood in her ancestral village of Ogra, Mureş County, Romania, returning to the United States with her mother and brother in 1939 just before the outbreak of World War II in Europe. Though a natural-born US citizen, she had the heart of an immigrant, holding both nostalgia for the old country and gratitude for the new one, passing this sense of gratitude on to her children.

Amelia was a proud graduate of McKinley High School, class of 1948. She held the position of secretary-technician at the then-Walsh College Library, a position that enabled her to be among the first to contribute to OCLC (Online Computer Library Center), then called Ohio College Library Center, which maintains WorldCat, the largest public access catalog of library holdings in the world.

Amelia was a member of St. George Romanian Catholic Cathedral and its Sf. Maria Ladies Auxiliary, contributing many volunteer hours, both in its fundraising activities and briefly as a catechism instructor. Her later years saw her volunteering at Meals-on-Wheels and actively participating in senior swim programs with her friends at the North Canton YMCA.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Theodore and Anna Popa of Canton, and John Botean, her husband of 47 years. She is survived by her sons, John Michael and Mark Steven Botean of the home, her brother, Eugene Popa of Louisville, and a grandson, Adam, along with her nieces and nephews.

Calling hours will be from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Thursday, July 8, at St George Cathedral, 1123 44th St. NE, Canton, Ohio, with saracusta (wake service) at 7:30 p.m. Funeral services will follow the next day, Friday, July 9, at 10:00 a.m., with her son, Bishop John Michael Botean, presiding, along with the cathedral rector, the Very Reverend Ovidiu Marginean, the Very Reverend Iuliu Vasile Muntean, Vicar General of the Romanian Catholic Diocese, and other clergy in attendance. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. Flowers are welcome, and memorial contributions in her name may be made to the Romanian Catholic Diocese of Canton, St. George Romanian Catholic Cathedral, or Mercy Hospice. The family is grateful to the caring teams at Mercy Hospice and Helping Hands Senior Care, as well as for the loving support of so many members of her parish family at St. George Cathedral.