U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Msgr. William J. McDonnell
Long-time pastor of St. Leo the Great Parish in Amherst, Msgr. William J. McDonnell died Jan. 7, 2002, of a heart attack while on retreat in Palm Beach, Fla.
Born in Buffalo to William J. and Marion H. (McCulle) McDonnell on Jan. 22, 1929, Msgr. McDonnell attended Holy Family School, Canisius High School and Canisius College, all in Buffalo.
He attended Christ the King Seminary at St. Bonaventure from 1948-1954. On May 5, 1954, Msgr. McDonnell was ordained by Bishop Joseph . A. Burke.
His assignments include the Buffalo Missionary Apostate at Sacred Heart Parish, Angelica, 1954-1955; assistant director of the Diocesan Summer School program, 1955; assistant pastor of Mother of Divine Grace Parish, Cheektowaga, 1955-1964; assistant pastor of St. Joseph's New Cathedral and secretary to bishop James A. McNulty, 1964-1973; and pastor of St. Anthony's Parish, Lockport, 1973-1978. He began serving as pastor of St. Leo the Great Parish in 1978.
Msgr. McDonnell also served as director of the Catholic Lawyers Guild and president of the Diocesan Pastoral council, as well as serving two terms on the Priests Senate, five years on the Diocesan Liturgical Commission and as chairman of the Catholic Charities Budget Committee.
Msgr. McDonnell was named Papal Chamberlain by Pope Paul VI on Dec. 2, 1967. He also was named a Prelate of Honor by Pope John Paul II, October 1988. In 1998, he received the Cure of Ars award from Christ the King Seminary. He was honored by the Diocesan Union of Holy Name Societies in 1999. Survivors include three sisters, Marion Jones of Amherst, Janet Coughlin of Lackawanna, Ann Browne of Buffalo; and three brothers, Deacon Thomas A. of Orchard Park, Robert J. of Boston, N.Y. and James J. of Hamburg.
A funeral Mass was held at St. Leo the Great Church. Burial was at Holy Cross Cemetery in Lackawanna.
Father John Kilian
Father John Kilian, 73, died on Dec. 28, 2002, in the St. Francis Geriatric Center, Buffalo.
Born in Dunkirk to the late Casimer and Helen (Worosz) Kilian, Father Kilian attended St. Hedwig’s School and Dunkirk High School before attending St. John Vianney and Christ the King Seminary, East Aurora. He was ordained by Bishop Joseph A. Burke in St. Joseph’s Cathedral in 1962.
He began his first assignment in the missionary apostolate at St. Brendan’s Parish in Almond in 1962 and then as an assistant at Assumption Parish, Buffalo, in 1963. He served as an assistant at SS. Peter and Paul Parish, Jamestown, in 1964, and at St. Anthony’s Parish, Batavia in 1965. In 1965, he taught at Notre Dame High School. He was a chaplain at the Villa Maria Motherhouse and a professor at Villa Maria College in 1967.
He also served as an assistant at St. Teresa’s Parish and St. Adalbert’s Parish, both of Buffalo. He was a professor at Archbishop Walsh High School, Olean, in 1974. He served as a missionary in Peru as part of the Maryknoll Associate Program in 1975. In 1985, he was a chaplain at the Wyoming Correctional Facility until 1990 when he went to Attica Correctional Facility until his retirement in 2001.
Father Kilian was a theology professor at Canisius College, was active in the National RENEW Office in New Jersey and worked among Hispanic communities. He also worked in Cochobomba, Bolivia, in the Altiplano Region with the Aymara Indians.
He is survived by a brother, Tom, and a sister, Sister M. Cynthia Kilian, CSSF.
Bishop Henry J. Mansell was celebrant at his funeral Mass on Jan. 3, 2003, in Blessed Sacrament Church, Buffalo.
Father Frederick J. Reisert, SJ
Father Frederick J. Reisert, 79, died Dec. 18, 2002, in his home in Loyola Hall, Canisius College, Buffalo.
Born in Brooklyn, Father Reisert was the son of Frederick and Margaret Reisert. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1943 in Poughkeepsie and made his final vows in 1980 at Canisius High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in science and philosophy and a master’s degree in ministry and theology from Woodstock College, Maryland. He was ordained by Cardinal Francis Spellman in 1954 at Fordham University, Bronx.
Father Reisert taught math and physics at Canisius High School, Buffalo, from 1956 to 1974. He left Canisius to open a private practice in 1974 as a psychological counselor, where he worked until his death.
Survivors include two brothers, Gerard of Brooklyn and Charles of Long Island.
A scholarship fund has been established in memory of Father Reisert at Canisius High School.
A funeral Mass was celebrated on Dec. 20, 2002, in St. Michael’s Parish, Buffalo. Burial was in the Jesuit Cemetery in Auriesville.
Father Sean C. O’Leary, OC
Father Sean C. O’Leary, 72, died on Dec. 30, 2002, in Venice, Fla., in Bon Secours Venice Hospital.
Born in Niagara Falls, Father O’Leary earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Bonaventure University and a master’s degree from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Father O’Leary is survived by his sister, Molly Switzer of Sarasota, Fla., and brothers, Jeremiah of Youngstown and Thomas of Lewiston.
A funeral Mass was celebrated on Jan. 3, 2003, by the Very Rev. John Russell, Order of Carmelite, provincial superior of the Canadian-American Province, in the Carmel Spiritual Center Chapel, Niagara Falls, Ont.
Burial was on Jan. 4 in the Carmelite section of Our Lady of Peace Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ont.
Deacon Moises Cruz
Deacon Moises Cruz, 80, died on Dec. 14, 2002, in Brooks Memorial Hospital, Dunkirk.
Born in Puerto Rico, Deacon Cruz was the son of the late Baudilio and Francisco (Negron) Cruz. He was a veteran of World War II and served in Puerto Rico from 1944 to 1947.
He married Belen in 1947 and in 1951 the couple moved to Buffalo. He was first employed at the Farm Hand in Buffalo. He later moved to Fredonia where he worked at the Fredonia Sanitation Service until his retirement in 1971.
Deacon Cruz was a member of the first class in the Permanent Diaconate and was ordained in 1979 in St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Buffalo, by Bishop Edward D. Head.
He was assigned to St. Anthony’s Parish, Fredonia, and to the Hispanic ministry at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Dunkirk. He was also spiritual director for the Hispanic Cursillo with which he had been active since 1965.
He served on the Rural Ministry board of directors in Dunkirk for 10 years and volunteered at the Friendly Kitchen, a soup kitchen in Dunkirk, with his wife who cooked Hispanic food every Thursday.
Deacon Cruz conducted two prayer groups each week, one at the Friendly Kitchen and another in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish.
He is survived by his wife, Belen, and four sons, Moises Jr., Louis, Arthur and Rocky, and many grandchildren, all living in the Dunkirk/Fredonia area.
A funeral Mass was celebrated on Dec. 18, 2002, in St. Anthony’s Parish, Fredonia. Burial was in St. Anthony’s Cemetery.
Deacon Jeffrey T. Vogt
Deacon Jeffrey T. Vogt, 40, died unexpectedly on Dec. 29, 2002, in WCA Hospital, Jamestown.
He was born in Dunkirk to Jack and Regina Mae (Centner) Vogt and began his lifelong service to others at the age of 14 when he first became active in volunteer and charitable activities. He graduated from Cardinal Mindszenty High School, Dunkirk, and earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Wadhams Hall College, Ogdensburg, a master’s degree in history from Fredonia State College, along with a master’s degree in theology from Christ the King Seminary, East Aurora.
He taught social studies and religious studies at St. Francis High School in Athol Springs where he was also director of the Social Justice Outreach Program through which he encouraged his students’ involvement in Buffalo’s neglected East Side parishes.
Deacon Vogt was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate in 2000 and served as deacon at Holy Trinity Parish, Dunkirk, where he was also pro-life chairman, and a member of the Religious Education Committee and St. Vincent de Paul Society. He was also northern Chautauqua County representative on the Pastoral Life Council, serving on the Respect Life Board and the Northern Chautauqua Vicariate Council.
He ran for a seat in the State Assembly in the 150th District in 1980, 1982 and 1984. He was chairman of the Dunkirk Republican Committee for 10 years, president of the Chautauqua County Young Republican Club and a member of the Chautauqua County Republican Executive Committee.
Deacon Vogt was affiliated with the Chautauqua County Youth Board, Ripon Society, Amnesty International, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, Historical Society of Dunkirk, Friends of the Dunkirk Free Library, Adams Art Gallery and the NAACP.
Deacon Vogt was a second-year student at the University of Buffalo School of Law.
He is survived by his parents, two brothers, Jack Jr. of Jamestown and James of Ashville, and three sisters, Sarah Sager of Forestville, Judith Sobilo of Dunkirk and Janice of Lakewood.
A scholarship has been established in his memory at St. Francis High School.
A funeral Mass was celebrated on Jan. 3, 2003, in Holy Trinity Parish, Dunkirk. Burial was in Holy Trinity Cemetery.
Sister Mary Helena Cheney, OSF
Sister Mary Helena Cheney, 89, died on Dec. 18, 2002, in Olean General Hospital.
The former Elizabeth Anna was born to the late Helen Mae (Hill) and Austin Jay Cheney, formerly of Machias.
She entered the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany in St. Elizabeth Motherhouse in 1945 and professed her vows in 1952.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the St. Elizabeth Teacher College and a master’s certificate in religious education from the Challenge Program, Bronx. She was a catechetical and classroom teacher for 39 years in Rochester, Delevan, Ossining, Jamestown, Port Jervis and Piscatawy, N.J., and Winsted, Conn. She was a reading specialist for 11 years at St. Joseph’s School, Niagara Falls, where she was vice principal and librarian.
A funeral Mass was celebrated on Dec. 20, 2002, in St. Elizabeth Motherhouse. Interment was in St. Bonaventure Cemetery.
