Tower Topics ~ Summer 2002

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Alumnitems

Births
Jon Schnieders (C84-88) and his wife, Tia, are the proud parents of twins, born in February. The Schnieders family lives in Overland Park, Kan.

Deaths
Rev. James Bartek, the brother of Rev. William Bartek (T58-61), died April 6 in Omaha.

Rev. Kenneth Brockel (C61-65, T65-69) died Jan. 23 in Kansas City at the Jeanne Jugan Center of the Little Sisters of the Poor.

Paul F. Caraher (H47-49) died in a bus crash in Cameroon, West Africa, in July 1998. He was in Cameroon as part of an international curriculum research trip with colleagues from Tennessee State University, Nashville, when the accident occurred. At the time of his death he was the chair of the department of educational administration at TSU, where he had taught since 1971. His wife, Ann, and two sons, Paul III and Justin, live in Nashville.

Rev. Ronald Conro (H47-51,C57-61,T61-65) died Nov. 13, 2000.

Donald Cummins (H35-39) died March 7 in Fond du Lac, Wis.

Rev. Paul Evers (C63-67,T67-71) died Sept. 3, 2001.

Alfred Farnan, father of Rev. Donald Farnan (C82-83), died Feb. 20, in Richmond, Mo.

Anna Herman, mother of Andrew Herman (C74), died in late January in Grand Island, Neb.

Rev. Thomas D. Holland (C48-52,T52-55) died in October 2001.

Msgr. James Jamail (T65-68) died May 5 in Houston.

Elisa LeBreton, mother of Victor LeBreton (C62-66), died in November 2001 in El Paso, Tex.

James Maher (H54-56,C57-62,T62-66) died April 25 in Omaha.

Marian Montroy, wife of Gerald Montroy (C59-61,T61-65), died April 13 in Collinsville, Ill.

Rev. Ronald Palmer (C75-76) died Feb. 26 in Peoria, Ill.

Robert Teson (H25-28) died May 4 in Maryville, Mo.

Rev. Frederick Tuzicka (C44-47,T7-51) died March 9 in Wichita.

Rev. Edward J. Young (C46-49,T49-52) died March 8 in Sioux City, Iowa.

Ordinations: Bishop
Rev. James E. Fitzgerald (C57-60,T60-64) ordained March 19 in Joliet, Ill., where he will serve as auxiliary bishop.

Msgr. Dorick M. Wright (C67-71,T71-72) ordained April 4 in Belize City, Belize, where he will serve as auxiliary bishop.

Ordinations: Priesthood
Ronald Elliott (C58-62, T62-63) ordained March 2 in Higginsville, Mo. Ronald was ordained a permanent deacon in 1984. He will continue serving as pastor of St. Mary parish, where he has been pastoral administrator since 1996.

Br. Bernardine Dang, CMC (C91-95) CMC Community, June 2.

Francis Nguyen (C95-98) Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, May 24; appointed associate pastor of St. John the Baptist parish, Edmond, Okla., and part-time chaplain at Bishop McGuinness High School.

John Jirak (C97 -98), Diocese of Wichita, May 25.

Paw Lwin (C97-98), Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, June 1.

Jamie Smith (C92-95), Diocese of Jefferson City, June 8.

Nick Voelker (C95-98), Diocese of Wichita, May 25.

Ordinations:
Transitional Diaconate
Tom Kisicki (C96-98), Archdiocese of Omaha, June 7.

Michael Klag (C93-95), Diocese of Wichita, March 26.

Michael Penn (C96-99), Diocese of Jefferson City, April 20.

Samuel Perez (LCC98-99), Diocese of Tulsa, April 20.

Scott Boeckman (PreTh98-99), Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, April 20.

Gilbert Vallejo (LCC98-99), Archdiocese of San Antonio, May 17.

Ordination Anniversaries
60 years
Rev. Sylvester Bauer
Rev. Donald Miller
Rev. Malachy Riley, OSB

50 years
Rev. W. Maurice Gardner
Rev. Lawrence Marbach
Rev. Michael O’Malley
Rev. Edgar Probstfield, OSB
Rev. Norbert Schappler, OSB
Rev. Msgr. Emmett Summers
Abbot Raphael Walsh, OSB

40 years
Rev. James Bain
Rev. James Burns
Rev. Leo Kerschen
Rev. Leon Kerschen
Rev. Jerome Morgan
Rev. John Paisley
Rev. Roger Schmit, OSB
Rev. Richard Sitzmann
Most Rev. Arthur Tafoya, DD
Rev. Kenneth Vavrina
Rev. Thomas J. Ward
Rev. J. Severyn Westbrook

25 years
Rev. Richard Ball
Rev. Albert Bruecken, OSB
Rev. Dennis Cahill 
Rev. Michael Clary
Rev. Jerome Kopel
Rev. Richard Parker
Abbot Gregory Polan, OSB
Rev. Harold Powell
Rev. Edmund Savilla
Rev. Reginald Urban

10 years
Rev. David Dohogne
Rev. Terrell Finnell
Rev. Timothy Haberkorn
Rev. Leo Hausmann
Rev. David Korth
Rev. Joseph Popelka
Rev. Damian Richards
Rev. Kenneth Riley
Rev. Charles Sena
Rev. Gerald Volz
Rev. Kevin Weber

Pastoral Assignments
Denver
Rev. Joseph T. Cao (PreTh93-95), administrator, St. Louis Parish, Louisville.

Rev. James R. Fox (C81-85), pastor, St. Mark Parish, Westminister.

Rev. Angelo Ossino (C49-54,T54-58) is retiring.

Rev. Rocco Porter (C88-92), administrator, St. Peter Parish, Greeley.

Rev. James S. Spahn (C91-93), administrator, Our Lady of the Valley Parish, Windsor; St. Mary Parish, Ault.

Des Moines
Rev. Anthony Aiello (C61-65) is on sabbatical until January 2003.

Rev. Richard Gubbels (C57-61), pastor of St. Patrick Parish, Neola (also serving St. Columbanus in Weston, Iowa).

Rev. Daniel Kirby (C85-90), pastor, Queen of Apostles Parish, Council Bluffs.

Rev. James Laurenzo (C60-63), pastor, St. Catherine of Siena/Drake Newman Center, Des Moines.

Rev. Robert Schoemann (H56-57,C58-62), pastor, All Saints Parish, Des Moines.

Oklahoma City
Rev. Joseph Jacobi (C84-86), pastor, St. Eugene Parish, Oklahoma City, and vicar for Hispanic ministry for the archdiocese.

Rev. M. Price Oswalt (C86-90), pastor, SS. Peter & Paul Parish, Kingfisher.

Rev. Kevin Ratterman (C85-89), chaplain, Bishop McGuinness High School, Mount St. Mary High School.

Rev. Shane Tharp (C93-95), associate pastor, St. Peter, Woodward; St. Frances Cabrini, Beaver; St Joseph, Buffalo; Sacred Heart, Moreland; Holy Name, Shattuck.

Rev. Edward Weisenburger, VG (C79-83), Cathedral of Our Lady, Oklahoma City.

Varia
James E. Calandro (C61-65) writes from Belleville, Ill. that he is retiring from the Army this summer with over 21 years of active federal service and 29 years of total service.

Rev. Benedict John Croell, O.P. (C89-91) gave presentations at Youth 2000, the major youth gathering in Cincinnati, during April. He left for the Dominican missions in Kenya in May.

Rev. Michael Cummins (C89-91), diocesan youth coordinator and campus ministry director at Knoxville (Tenn.) Catholic High, helped direct a vocation awareness program at the John XXIII Catholic Center in January.

Rev. Thomas Greisen (C76-78), director of the Office of Lay Ministry Formation for the Archdiocese of Omaha, facilitated study days for lay ministers during March and April in Omaha and Norfolk.

Rev. Thomas Hoisington (C87-90), chaplain and assistant professor of theology at Newman University in Wichita, Kan., in April gave a lecture at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Wichita on G.K. Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man. The lecture was based on Father Hoisington’s thesis when he studied at Gregorian University in Rome.

Thomas Lang (C66-68) and Rev. J. Patrick Wissman (H54-56,C56-61,T61-65) recently attended the Region IX meeting of the FDLC at Conception Abbey. Lang lives in Dubuque, Iowa, and Father Wissman is pastor in Bolivar, Mo.

Rev. Paul Oborny (C56-58,T58-62) was recently honored for five years as a Catholic school pastor at St. Joseph Parish, McPherson, Kan., and Rev. Thomas Scaletty (C58-59,T59-63) was recognized for fifteen years as a Catholic school pastor, first at St Jude, Wichita, and now at St. Patrick’s in Chanute, Kan.

Charles M. Spinner (C64-68) will be retiring this summer after 33 years of teaching U.S. history. He and his wife, Patrice, live in Parma Heights, Ohio.

Msgr. Michael Wilbers (C64-68,T68-71), vicar general of the Jefferson City Diocese and pastor of Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Lake Ozark, Mo., gave the homily at the Legislative Mass at St. Peter’s Church in Jefferson City. The Mass marked the opening of the legislative session in January.

Kenneth Williams (C81-83) of Washington, D.C., is director of New Voices, a national social justice leadership program that funds fellowships in international human rights, women’s rights, racial justice, migrant and refugee rights, and other issues. In recent years he worked with the Brady Bill campaign and a federal child health program, Emergency Medical Services for Children.

Oblation
Oblate Novices:
John and Linda A Casey, St. Joseph, Mo., Jan. 18, 2002.

Dr. Michael G. Smith, Lee’s Summit, Mo., Feb. 15, 2002.

Lloyd Steven Hess, Roseville, Minn., March 30, 2002.

Jerry Rivera, St. Joseph, Mo., April 4, 2002.

Keith N. Spencer-Gore, Santa Fe, N.M., April 7, 2002.

Steven K. Haskell, Kansas City, Mo., April 12, 2002

Rosalie Taylor, Preston, Mo., April 14, 2002.

Karl Roseman, Springfield, Mo., April 29, 2002.

Final Oblation:
Mary Virden, Springfield, Mo., April 29, 2002.

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