Andrew Andrejevič Sabak

Andrew Andrejevič Sabak, 75, of Fairmont, West Virginia fell asleep in the Lord peacefully at home on January 12, 2026, after a long illness.

Andrew was born on July 13, 1950 in Somerset, PA to Father Andrew I. Sabak and Pani Anna Gadala Sabak. His father was transferred to several different parishes during Andrew’s early childhood, but the family finally settled in Fort Lauderdale, FL when Andrew was eight. He would live in Florida for most of the next thirty years before trading in the beach for West Virginia weather, and though we do not understand that choice, we are grateful he made it.

At seventeen, Andrew left high school early (or “dropped out”) to pursue a math degree at MIT, where he studied computer science before it was available as a college major. While living in Cambridge, he was a member of the Russian Liturgical Choir at Harvard. He also decided to run the Boston Marathon in 1971 without training – and finished with a deeply respectable time of four hours and thirty minutes. To his family’s knowledge, he never ran again, though he continued to sing for the rest of his life.

He was a lifelong scholar and obtained two further degrees after graduating from MIT: a bachelor’s in theology from Christ the Savior Seminary in 1975, and a master’s in computer science from Nova Southeastern University. For most of his career, he was the proprietor and sole employee of Sabak Computer Services, specializing in database management for nonprofits and political candidates. In later years, he also worked as a freelance Russian translator for academic and scientific publishers, and his projects taught him a great deal about metrology, hydrology, and, once, Siberian power line insulation.

Andrew met and married his beloved wife Linda in 1989, and their only child, Nina, was born in 1991. The three of them loved traveling together, and Andrew ultimately made a total of sixteen trips to Russia and Ukraine while his health permitted. His Russian and Church Slavonic were very good, though he spoke too fast in every language he knew.

He was brilliant, funny, and sweet. He made friends easily and everywhere. His faith shaped him deeply and was the foundation of his unshakeable belief in the value of each and every human life. No one was beneath Andrew’s regard or empathy, and no one was ever a stranger for long. He loved a good cup of coffee and a new book, his puns always had footnotes, and he took immense pride in his wife and daughter. He was known to remark, during quiet moments with his family, “Well, this is just wonderful,” and he was always correct.

He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Dr. Linda DiGiustino Sabak of Fairmont, WV and his daughter and son-in-law, Nina Sabak and James Davis, of Forest Hills, PA. Survivors also include his siblings, Natalie Pope of Lakeland, FL; Theodore Sabak of Sebring, FL; and Gregory Sabak of Morgantown, WV; Gregory’s son and daughter-in-law, Spencer and Brooke Sabak of Mannington, WV; and extended family, by blood and through marriage, across the eastern US.

The family extends its love to Michael Hanlin, who was like a son to Andrew and whose support has been incalculable. Additionally, the family would like to thank the WVU Medicine hospice team for caring for Andrew with grace and dignity.

Friends and family will be received at St. Mary's Orthodox Church, 19 West Park Ave., Westover on Friday, January 16th from 10:00 AM until the time of the service at 11:00 AM. Interment will take place at East Oak Grove Cemetery.

There was no one else like him. We miss him terribly. But for a while, he was ours, and that was just wonderful.

Hastings Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements. Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.hastingsfuneralhome.com