Former Trib ad service manager dies after 11-year battle with cancer

Carol Demalon, a former advertising service manager for the Tribune-Review, might have been small in stature, but she had big qualities that quickly captivated her husband, Mark.

The couple met while attending Greensburg Central Catholic High School in the late 1970s, where Mark Demalon first noticed her smile, deep blue eyes and feisty attitude.

“She was my soulmate. She was my love,” Mark Demalon said. “I can tell you where I was when I said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to marry that girl.’ ”

For 39 years, the high school sweethearts built a life together and raised their daughter, Jacqueline Sullenberger, in addition to the almost 6 years they spent dating.

Carol Demalon of Herminie died Saturday, March 12, 2022, at Allegheny Health Network’s West Penn Hospital after an 11-year battle with ovarian cancer. She was 60.

Mrs. Demalon was born Nov. 12, 1960, in Greensburg. She was the daughter of Clara “Dee” Holmquist and the late Glenn R. Holmquist.

After graduating from Greensburg Central Catholic in 1979, she attended Seton Hill University.

Following her 1983 graduation, she married Mark, who recently had joined the Navy. His job took them to several states, including Maine, Virginia and Maryland.

During their 16 years of traveling the country, Mrs. Demalon worked several production and administrative jobs.

She applied to the Tribune-Review shortly after the couple returned to the Greensburg area.

“She loved what she did, and she loved working for the Trib,” Mark Demalon said. “She got up with a purpose every day. Then cancer struck her in October 2010, and there was a period of time where she tried to make a comeback. But it just wasn’t in the cards, so she had to leave.”

According to her husband, Mrs. Demalon underwent seven major surgeries and more than 400 chemotherapy treatments after her diagnosis.

Despite her diagnosis, she continued to enjoy life to the fullest. In her free time, she attended St. Edward Church in Herminie and was a member of the Herminie VFW Ladies Auxiliary and the Clairton Anglers Club. She enjoyed shooting at the gun range, fishing with her husband and traveling. The couple shared a second home in Somerset.

Mrs. Demalon also tended a small home garden and enjoyed spending time with her three grandchildren.

“Just a wonderful person, wonderful human being,” Mark Demalon said. “I’ve loved her since 1979.”

In addition to her husband and daughter, she is survived by her mother; two sisters, Diane Murphy and Kathleen Cochran; and two brothers, Dennis and Glenn Holmquist.

A funeral mass will be held at 11 a.m. Monday in St. Edward Roman Catholic Church in Herminie.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Krivak Gynecologic Cancer Research Fund at Allegheny Health Network.