MAGGIE VALLEY — Deacon Gerard (Jerry) Peter LaPointe Jr., 83, died Dec. 18, 2016.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 23, 2016, at St. Margaret of Scotland Church in Maggie Valley with Father Joshua Voitus officiating.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016, at Garrett Funerals and Cremations in Waynesville.
A Mass will be celebrated with the family in Florida at a later date.
Deacon LaPointe was born in Franklin, N.H., on Feb. 12, 1933, to the late Gerard P. Sr. and Lillian Trottier LaPointe.
Together with recently deceased brother-in-law, John Weeks, he was co-owner of LaPointe and Weeks Texaco until he opened LaPointe and Sons Auto Body Repair. He retired in 1985 and moved to Maggie Valley, where he enjoyed woodworking, building hot rods, restoring antique cars, and living in his creekside cottage in Maggie Valley.
He was a retired deacon in residence at St. Margaret of Scotland Church in Maggie Valley. He was ordained for the Diocese of Charlotte on March 9, 2001, at St. Margaret of Scotland, the same parish he served for almost 16 years.
His service to his parish community, his local community and the diocese gives testimony to his love for God and all those he served. He will be greatly missed, and his ministry will have a lasting presence for all those he served.
Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Lorraine LaPointe.
He is survived by his sons, Michael and Peter; his daughters, Christine, Marlene, Lisa and Alicia; his sister, Eileen Weeks; his grandchildren, Matthew, Erica, Danielle, Michael, Nikaela, Katie and David; and his great-grandchildren, Kendall, Jordan and Amelia.
Garrett Funerals and Cremations of Waynesville was in charge of the arrangements.
— Catholic News Herald
OLEAN, N.Y. — Monsignor Thomas R. Walsh of Allegany, N.Y., died Dec. 2, 2016, at Cuba Memorial Hospital in Cuba. N.Y., after a long illness.
Friends will be received from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5, 2016, at the Casey, Halwig & Hartle Funeral Home, 3128 W. State Road, Olean, and from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016, at St. Bonaventure Church in Allegany. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. in the church. Burial will be next to his parents in St. Bonaventure Cemetery.
The son of the late John J. and Celia Phillips Walsh, he was a graduate of St. Bonaventure Parochial School and from Allegany Central School, where he was the class valedictorian of 1944, winning The James McLaughlin Scholarship to St. Bonaventure University. During his high school and college years, he served as one of the organists at St. Bonaventure Parish Church.
While in his third year of college, he was accepted as a candidate for the priesthood for the Diocese of Raleigh, with the help of Franciscan Father Thomas Plassman, president of St. Bonaventure University. He attended Mount St. Mary's College and Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., and played the organ and did missionary work in North Carolina during his seminary years.
He was ordained to the priesthood in Greensboro in May 1953 by the late Bishop Vincent S. Waters.
Father Walsh served the Diocese of Raleigh and later the Diocese of Charlotte, when the state was divided into two dioceses because of the growth in the Catholic population. He served as assistant pastor and pastor of 13 parishes across the coastal, Piedmont and mountain areas of the state. He saw and experienced many changes in North Carolina with the growth of the Catholic Church in the South.
Perhaps his most notable achievement was his nine years as pastor of St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte, when the new church was built. He had much influence on its design, its inclusion of an organ and its protection of the large oak trees on the building site, for which the parish received an award of appreciation from the city of Charlotte.
Father Walsh retired to his hometown of Allegany in 1996 and assisted at local parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo, N.Y., often at St. Patrick's Church in Limestone, until his illness prevented him.
He was a member of the Allegany Area Historical Association and the Allegany Knights of Columbus, serving as its chaplain for several years.
He is survived by a brother, John P. (Jillian) Walsh of Allegany; three sisters, Barbara Walsh of Houghton, Sally (John) Vanini of Olean and Cameron (John) Donoghue of Weeki Wachee, Fla.; and eight nieces and nephews: Margaret Eckhardt, Bridget Walsh, Matthew Walsh, John T. Vanini, Kevin Vanini, Aileen Henning, and James and Mark Donoghue.
Flowers are declined. Donations may be made to St. Bonaventure Church, 95 E. Main St., Allegany, N.Y. 14706; The Alzheimer's Association of WNY, 2805 Wehrle Dr., Suite 6, Williamsville, N.Y. 14221; The Allegany Area Historical Association, P.O. Box 162 Allegany, N.Y. 14706; or an organization of the donor's choice.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.oleanfuneralhome.com.
Casey Halwig & Hartle Funeral Home of Olean was in charge of the arrangements.
— Catholic News Herald
BEACON, N.Y. — Capuchin Franciscan Father Stanislaus W. Kobel, 70, passed away Nov. 12, 2016, at St. Lawrence Friary Infirmary in Beacon, N.Y.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Nov. 17, 2016, at St. Lawrence Friary. Burial followed at the St. Lawrence Friary Cemetery.
He was born in Philadelphia on Oct. 16, 1946, the son of the late Stanislaus W. Kobel Sr. and Margaret Bonner Kobel. He graduated in 1964 from St. Joseph’s Prep High School in Philadelphia and then in 1968 from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. He was a successful businessman in the fields of accounting, management, marketing and economics.
He entered the postulancy program of the Capuchin Franciscan Friars Province of the Sacred Stigmata of St. Francis on Aug. 27, 1989, at St. Lawrence Friary. He made his first profession of vows on Aug. 3, 1991. He was ordained a priest on Sept. 7, 1996, at Immaculate Conception Church in Bronx, N.Y., by Bishop William G. Curlin of Charlotte.
Father Kobel served in ministry in various dioceses, including at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Passaic, N.J., and as a hospital chaplain at St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic, both of which are located in the Diocese of Paterson. He served for many years as parochial vicar at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte.
Father Kobel is survived by his brother, John Kobel; his sisters, Kathleen Gartland and Peggy Keasler; five nephews and one niece; and three great-nephews and five great-nieces.
To send personal condolences, go online to www.halveyfh.com.
Peter T. and Patrick J. Halvey of Halvey Funeral Home Inc. in Beacon, N.Y., were in charge of the arrangements.
— Catholic News Herald
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Father Edmund McCaffrey, a retired priest of the Diocese of Charleston who was a former Benedictine monk and former abbot of Belmont Abbey, died Nov. 13, 2016.
He died in Louisville, Ky., where he resided with the Little Sisters of the Poor. He was 83.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at noon on Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, at St. Michael Church in Garden City, S.C. Father McCaffrey helped found St. Michael Church in 1976 and was its first pastor.
Visitation will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27, and from 9-11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 28, at the church. There will be a prayer vigil service at 7:15 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27, also at St. Michael Church.
As a Benedictine, he was a founder and former head of the political science department at Belmont Abbey College, as well as a visiting professor and writer, then abbot of the Belmont Abbey monastery. He was incardinated in the Diocese of Charleston Oct. 1, 1993.
In the diocese, he served at St. Andrew Parish in Myrtle Beach, was the priest in charge of the Garden City Catholic Community, helped found St. Michael in Garden City at Murrells Inlet, and served as pastor at Divine Redeemer Church in Hanahan.
He retired Jan. 1, 2003, after serving as pastor of Holy Family Church on Hilton Head Island.
Even in retirement, he spent time traveling, giving retreats and parish missions all over the country.
“I’m proud of the work I did at St. Michael Church,” he said in a 2008 interview with The Catholic Miscellany, Charleston’s diocesan newspaper. “When I started, it was a little church and we didn’t have any money, but what we built has become one of the largest parishes in South Carolina.”
Father McCaffrey was an avid supporter of vocations, and in 1974 he served as co-founder of the Institute on Religious Life in Chicago with Jesuit Father John Hardon, Bishop James J. Hogan of Altoona-Johnstown, Pa., and William Isaacson. He was executive vice president and executive director from 1975 to 1980. The institute’s mission is to promote the growth and renewal of consecrated religious life. He started the organization when he was abbot of Belmont Abbey.
“We wanted to preserve the gift of consecrated life as envisioned by Vatican II, which not only included religious but the laity, too,” said the priest.
Father McCaffrey received the institute’s 2003 Pro Fidelitate et Virtute Award for manifesting “notable support and promotion of the consecrated life.”
In 1990, Fathers McCaffrey and Hardon also were two of the co-founders of Eternal Life, a Catholic pro-life organization that would focus more on the educational aspect of pro-life work. In the first few years, they held more than 20 “Make a Moral Miracle Happen Conferences” all over the country.
Father McCaffrey returned to Myrtle Beach in 2003 because he had so many friends there. Besides giving retreats and parish missions, he led more than 23 pilgrimages to Fatima in Portugal and still tried to go annually.
He said some of his most important work was promoting the sacraments.
“I like to talk about the Eucharist and the importance of confession,” the priest said. “Those are my main apostolic works. I preach about those things all the time.”
He was born Jan. 9, 1933, in Savannah, Ga., to Joseph E. McCaffrey and Ruby Elizabeth Johnson Fairbanks McCaffrey.
He was a graduate of Belmont Abbey Preparatory School, Belmont Abbey College and Belmont Abbey Seminary in Belmont, and The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
He had a bachelor’s, a master’s and a doctorate in political science, and also had a doctorate in sacred theology doctorate.
He made his profession as a Benedictine monk (American-Cassinese Congregation) July 2, 1953, and was ordained a priest May 23, 1959.
He was elected the fourth abbot of Belmont Abbey on March 2, 1970.
In retirement, Father McCaffrey did everything but slow down.
“I don’t think that a priest should ever retire,” said Father McCaffrey in an interview. “When a man gives himself to God, it should never end with a retirement.”
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: Eternal Life, 902 W. Stephen Foster Ave. Bardstown, KY 40004.
Goldfinch Funeral Home-Beach Chapel in Murrells Inlet, S.C., was in charge of the arrangements.
— Catholic News Service. The staff of The Catholic Miscellany in Charleston, S.C., contributed.
CINCINNATI, Ohio — Father August "Gus" Guppenberger, 81, a native of Batavia, N.Y., and a Glenmary Home Missioner for 59 years, died Nov. 6, 2016, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Father Gus brought his outgoing personality to missions and ministries in five states: Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, Georgia and Kentucky. Along with his ministerial efforts, Father Gus was known for his white beard and a joyful demeanor that allowed him to play Santa Claus for children each winter.
Father Gus was a man who bestowed and received the joy of the Gospel," Glenmary president Father Chet Artysiewicz said. "He delighted that he was able to elicit joyful responses through his Santa Claus portrayal. And throughout his travels, the people and customs he encountered touched him with joyful gratitude."
Reception of the body will take place at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, 2016, at Our Lady of the Fields Chapel, 4085 Glenmary Trace, Fairfield, Ohio. Visitation will follow, and a wake service will begin at 7 p.m.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov.15, 2016, at St. Matthias Church, 1050 W. Kemper Road, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Father Gus professed his first oath as a Glenmarian in 1957 and was ordained a priest in 1961.
His pastoral year was served in Buck Creek, N.C. From there he became part-time (and later full-time) associate pastor in Dahlonega, Ga. In 1963 he became associate pastor in Statesboro, Ga., and late in 1964 he returned to Cincinnati to work in promotions.
After a time in Jefferson, Texas, as associate pastor, Father Gus was named pastor of St. Mary of the Woods mission in Franklin, Ky., on April 1, 1966. He was called back to serve in Cincinnati for a time in promotions and as local superior, but returned to Franklin from 1972 until 1975.
His next pastorate was at Holy Redeemer Church in Andrews from 1976 to 1986. He then administered parishes in West Liberty, Ky., and Waynesboro, Ga., before becoming pastor of the Waynesboro mission in 1987. Father Gus served as associate pastor in Cleveland, Ga., in 1989. He also served in Sylvania, Ga.
In 1990 he returned to Cincinnati to serve in the mission office. For years after serving in this capacity, Father Gus held the record for most mission appeals by any Glenmary missioner. From 1998 until 2004 he served as assistant house director of the Glenmary residence. His last assignment before taking senior membership in late 2004 was as Mission Cooperation Program Coordinator for the Mission Education Ministry Office.
Father Gus was the sixth of seven children born to August and Mary Guppenberger. His parents preceded him in death. He is survived by brothers Francis (Carol), James and Joseph Guppenberger; sisters Mary (John W.) Yunker, Helene (Bob) Beuler, Lois (John) Gringer and Barbara Guppenberger; fellow missioners and friends.
Memorials may be made to Glenmary Home Missioners, P.O. Box 465618, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246, or at www.glenmary.org.
— Catholic News Herald