Residents mourn passing of MHT priest

By RHONDA WESTFALL

Staff Writer

A love of his parish and all area residents is how members of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church will remember Fr. Raymond Rademacher. The Westphalia native passed away May 18, after a battle with cancer.

"Fr. Ray was always there for the people. He worked hard, even when he was sick; you never heard him complain," said Fred Epkey, MHT Parish Council President. "His passing is a great loss to the parish. He will be hard to replace."

Fr. Ray’s love of service to God and the parish was seen on a daily basis by parish secretary, Donna Schafer, who began her duties at MHT just a few months before the priest’s assignment there in June 1997.

"Service to the parish and the parishioners was Fr. Ray’s top priority," Schafer said. "He liked the people and they liked him. He made a point of going out to visit the sick and shut-ins, even when he was very ill himself."

Similar sentiments are expressed by Don Martin, financial officer for the Msgr. Esper Knights of Columbus Council, of which Fr. Rademacher was a member. He had also served as the Lansing Diocese Chaplain for the K-C.

"He was just a great person," Martin said. "He was a strong supporter of the Knights because he understood the need for a fraternal organization like this that does good for the parish."

Fr. Ray graduated from St. Joseph Seminary, Sacred Heart Seminary and St. John Provincial Seminary and completed post-graduate work at Western Michigan University, earning a master’s degree in history.

He served as Parochial Vicar at St. Joseph in St. Joseph, St. Augustine in Kalamazoo and St. Thomas Aquinas in East Lansing; and Pastor at St. Joseph in Owosso, St. Francis of Assisi in Ann Arbor, and St. Casimir in Lansing before coming to MHT.