To Contact Us
Write:
PO Box 1603
Lafayette, IN 47902
Phone:
(765) 742-2050
Fax:
(765) 742-7513
E-mail
our office
Buy, Sell, Trade or Rent with Classified Advertising
Happening ... in the Local Church
 Father
Thomas Zimmer and Sister Maria Kolbe Gretencord, OP, in August 2008
(Photo provided) |
 Father
Zimmer was serving as administrator of Central Catholic High School in
Lafayette when Sen. John F. Kennedy visited the school in 1960. |
 Father
Zimmer and Father David Rasner at St. Charles Church, Otterbein, in
2002. |
By Caroline B. Mooney
The
Catholic Moment
LAFAYETTE — Father Thomas Zimmer, 82, priest of the Local Church for 58 years, died on Feb. 13 in New Port Richey, Fla., where he had moved after retirement.
His funeral Mass was celebrated Feb. 19 at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception with burial at St. Mary’s Cemetery. Forty-nine priests of the diocese were there to say goodbye to their brother priest.
Father David Rasner, judicial vicar of the diocesan Marriage Tribunal and pastor of St. Joseph Church, Covington, and St. Francis Xavier Church, Attica, said that Father Zimmer, “as pastor of my home parish of St. Mary’s, Frankfort, was both an inspiration and mentor for my own priestly vocation.”
“Father Zimmer was always perceived as a strong, prayerful and happy priest,” he said. “I was blessed to have both his support for my own vocation, and his friendship during the years since I was ordained.
“He was an extraordinarily outgoing man, meeting people readily and conversing freely with people in restaurants and stores in the communities where he served,” Father Rasner said. “Father Zimmer always presented a very positive and friendly face for the Church.”
In retirement, Father Zimmer stayed with Father Rasner on his annual summer visits from Florida.
“He was always greatly appreciated and enjoyed by my parishioners,” Father Rasner said, “first at St. Charles, Otterbein, and then at St. Joseph’s in Covington. Father Zimmer was a man of rock-solid faith, fidelity in prayer, and with a true priestly heart.”
Thomas John Zimmer, son of the late Andrew and Mary Bower Zimmer, was born in Kentland on Feb. 14, 1927. He was ordained by Bishop John Bennett on June 3, 1952, at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Lafayette.
He attended St. Meinrad Minor Seminary from 1941-45 and graduated from St. Meinrad Major Seminary with a degree in theology in 1952.
His first assignment was assistant pastor of St. Mary Church, Anderson, in 1952.
In 1955, he was named assistant pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, West Lafayette. He was appointed superintendent of Central Catholic High School, Lafayette, in 1956, and full-time administrator of the school in 1957.
His first pastorate came at St. Mary Church, Alexandria, in 1962. He was named pastor of St. Joan of Arc Church, Kokomo, in 1970, and served as pastor of St. Mary Church, Frankfort, from 1974 until 1984. He was pastor of St. John the Baptist Church, Earl Park, from 1984 until his retirement in 1996.
From 1957 to 1962, Father Zimmer was on the board of directors of the Red Cross and the Boy Scouts. He served as chaplain to the Lafayette Police Department from 1958 to 1962. He was secretary of the National Stewardship Conference in 1972. In 1990, Father Zimmer served as state chaplain for the Knights of Columbus.
Maria Hott, a member of St. Mary Church, Alexandria, recalls monthly card club get-togethers with Father Zimmer. “He was well liked and a friend to all,” she said.
Fellow parishioner Joanne Sullivan said she admired Father Zimmer for his outgoing manner, friendliness and kindness to everyone.
“He worked hard at building a new church for us,” she said. “He went to every house collecting donations. He had a great sense of humor and always had a joke to tell. He was very sports-minded and had an active lifestyle.”
“He was much loved,” said Marcia Gretencord, parishioner of St. John the Baptist, Earl Park. “Father Zimmer encouraged devotion to the Blessed Mother and the Eucharist. My family loved him. He was a giving priest who really made himself so much a part of the parish. He was a great spiritual leader. We were so blessed to have him in our lives.”
Her son, Adam, said, “I received my first Holy Eucharist from his hands and served at Mass with him for many years. Every summer he would load the altar servers in a bus and treat us to a game at Wrigley Field. Sundays I would receive catechesis from him. He never spoke down to us and always challenged our understanding. Father made it possible for me to attend World Youth Day in 1993. I never would have experienced this life-changing event outside his generosity.
“We will be praying for him,” he said. “I always remembered that he said he had so much fun being a priest, and he’d have to explain that to the Lord. I’m sure the Lord loved him that way. … There’s one thing I’m sad he never got to experience during his time on earth — the Cubs winning the World Series. I’m sure he’s pleading before the Lord as we speak. If they win this year, it will be because of Father Zimmer.”
“Father was a joyful man,” said Marc Gretencord, Marcia’s other son. “He loved life and the priesthood and it showed. Unfortunately he never lived to see his beloved Cubs make it to the World Series. I imagine his time in purgatory will be short.”
“We are going to miss him,” said Ron Rabenstein, a parishioner of St. Mary, Frankfort. “He was a fine gentlemen and a genuine friend — not just to me and my family, but to everyone. He baptized five of my six children and influenced my wife in her conversion to the Catholic Church. I have known him since I was in high school at Central Catholic. I remember one of his comments, he said his father thought the bishop was crazy to make him superintendent when he did, because he was so young, but I think the bishop recognized his talents.
“We stayed close after he left St. Mary’s,” he said. “We would go visit him in Earl Park and he would invite us for breakfast after Mass — he had a recipe for Swedish pancakes. A few months later, my fourth child, who was about 6 at the time, asked my wife if she could make some of God’s pancakes.”
Sister Mary Catherine Titus, of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, Tenn., grew up as a member of St. Mary Church, Frankfort.
“I was very sorry to hear about his death,” she said. “Father Zimmer was a wonderful pastor. People loved him and didn’t want him to leave when he was reassigned. Growing up, he would always have us do work around the parish, and then he would cook for us. He was a wonderful person and had a lot of friends. He always stopped here (at the motherhouse) to visit on the way to and from Florida. He was a good influence in promoting vocations; he was so happy in his own vocation.”
May he rest in peace.