In Memoria

We remember and share these obituaries of the priests and women and men religious who have served in our Archdiocese and died this year.

Prayers for Death and Dying  |  Prayers for Mourners

2024

Monsignor Jack Dinkins
BEAUMONT — Monsignor Jack Dinkins died on Wednesday, Nov. 13. He was 87 years old. Born on Feb. 1, 1937, he was ordained a priest on May 25, 1963. Monsignor Dinkins served as parochial vicar at St. Francis of Assisi, Queen of Peace in La Marque, St. Francis de Sales and St. Vincent de Paul parishes.
He also served as the director of the Office of Vocations and as the director of the Permanent Diaconate. He then served as pastor of St. Pius V in Pasadena, St. Francis de Sales and Epiphany of the Lord in Katy. Monsignor Dinkins retired in 2013.
A funeral Mass, celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, was held Nov. 22 at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica in Beaumont. Interment is in Oak Bluff Memorial Park in Port Neches. A memorial Mass will be held on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 11 a.m. at Epiphany of the Lord Catholic Church in Katy. 

Sister Gertrude Peña, O.P.
HOUSTON — Sister Gertrude Peña, O.P., died Sunday, Oct. 6. She was 97 years old.
She entered the Dominican Sisters of Houston in 1946, and ministered in education at Sacred Heart, Galveston; St. Peter the Apostle, Houston; Northwest Junior High, Houston; St. Rose of Lima, Houston; O’Connell High School, Galveston; Dominican Elementary, Galveston; Our Lady of Lourdes, Hitchcock; and St. Anne, Houston. She served as director of Religious Education with involvement in Family Care at St. John the Baptist Parish in Alvin, and as an extended day assistant at St. Catherine Montessori School, Houston.
A funeral Mass was held Oct. 15 at St. Dominic Villa Chapel. Interment is in Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery.

Father Drew Wood
HOUSTON — Father Drew Wood, pastor at St. Laurence Catholic Church in Sugar Land, died on Thursday, Sept. 12. He was 78 years old.
He was ordained on April 28, 1973, and served as parochial vicar at several parishes, including Blessed Sacrament, St. Mary Magdalene, St. John Vianney and St. Cecilia.
He was also pastor at St. Mary Star of the Sea, St. Peter the Apostle and St. Augustine. Father Wood also served as associated director and then director of the Vocations Office, faculty and spiritual director at St. Mary Seminary and vice chancellor. In 1998, he was assigned as parochial vicar of St. Laurence and then subsequently named pastor in 2002, where he remained until his death.
A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at St. Laurence Catholic Church. Interment is private.

Sister Lydia Delgado, O.P.
HOUSTON — Sister Lydia Delgado, O.P., died on Monday, July 15. She was 75 years old.
Sister Delgado served as school secretary at St. Theresa School, office worker and conference coordinator in Social Ministry at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Houston, and as case manager in the Senior Services Program at Catholic Charities in Houston. Her congregational service included her ministry as the vocation team director and co-director.
A funeral Mass was held on July 19 at St. Dominic Villa Chapel. Interment is in Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery. 

Sister Beatrice Maroul, C.V.I.
HOUSTON — Sister Beatrice Maroul, C.V.I., died on Thursday, July 11. She was 89 years old. Sister Maroul was part of the faculty and staff at Incarnate Word Academy for 40 years until her retirement.
A funeral Mass was held on July 22 at the Villa de Matel Chapel. Interment is in Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery. 

Sister Susanne Ruane, CCVI
HOUSTON — Sister Susanne Ruane, CCVI, died on Thursday, May 30. She was 86 years old.
A funeral Mass was held June 14 at the Immaculate Conception Chapel, Villa de Matel. Interment is in the Villa de Matel Cemetery. 

Sister Raphael Bordages, O.P.
HOUSTON — Sister Raphael Bordages, O.P., died on Friday, May 17, at the age of 102.
She was in the education ministry for 50 years, serving at many schools in Texas, including St. Mary School and Sacred Heart School in Houston and Holy Family School in Wharton. Her congregational service included her ministry as a tutor and receptionist at the Villa de Matel and receptionist and sacristan at the Dominican Sisters Motherhouse.
A funeral Mass was held May 24 at St. Dominic Villa Chapel. Interment is in Forest Park Lawndale. 

Father Ivan Cormac Marsh, O. Carm.
GALVESTON — Father Ivan Cormac Marsh, O. Carm., of Holy Rosary Catholic Church on Galveston Island died April 25. He was 87 years old.
He attended Holy Rosary Grade School and Central High School in Galveston. He served with the Carmelites and Christian Brothers around the country.
Father Cormac moved to Houston in 2000, where he served as spiritual director at St. Mary's Seminary. He retired in 2007.
A funeral Mass was held May 11 at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Galveston. Interment is in Mount Olivet Cemetery. 

Sister Helen Spanos, C.V.I.
HOUSTON — Sister Helen Spanos, C.V.I., died on Wednesday, April 23, at the age of 93.
She began her ministry as an elementary school teacher and then moved on to serve in youth and adult religious education and Hispanic Ministry serving at Holy Name Parish, Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral and St. Andrew Church in Channelview. Sister Spanos also served as a home missionary and as an adult educator in the East Texas Project (Huntsville area) sponsored by the Archdiocese. She ministered in her community as vocation director and director for the sisters in formation. She was one of the pioneer sisters in her community to serve in Huehuetenango, Guatemala.
A funeral Mass was held April 30 at the Villa de Matel Chapel. Interment is in Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery. 

Father James Michael Van Cleve
HOUSTON — Father James Michael Van Cleve, who served as parochial vicar at St. Jerome Catholic Church for 21 years before he retired in 2022, died April 21.
A funeral Mass was held April 29 at St. Jerome Catholic Church. Interment is in Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery.

Father Gan Minh Nguyen, C.Ss.R.
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Father Gan Minh Nguyen, C.Ss.R., a Redemptorist who served at Holy Ghost Parish in Houston, died on April 14. He was 59 years old.
In 1999, he was appointed at Holy Ghost Parish, where he held additional responsibilities as community bursar. Father Nguyen returned to Houston in 2016 as parochial vicar of the church.
A funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Redemptorist Church in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday, April 27. Interment is in the Redemptorist Cemetery in Liguori, Missouri.

Father Robert Crossmyer, CP
DETROIT — Father Robert Crossmyer, CP, who served on the retreat preaching team at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center from 1988 to 1994, died March 16. He led the various 12-Step Recovery Programs at Holy Name.
A funeral Mass was held at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit, Michigan, on March 26. Interment is in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Detroit.

Father Francis A. Frankovich, CC
HOUSTON — Father Francis A. Frankovich, former director of the Catholic Charismatic Center, died Feb. 13. He was 81 years old.
After six years as director, he ministered to the Spanish-speaking community at the Catholic Charismatic Center and worked with a team of people to organize a greater development of the Companions of the Cross throughout the Archdiocese. Father Frankovich also did missionary-type work in places including Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Peru and in the Dominican Republic.
A funeral Mass was held Monday, Feb. 19, at the Catholic Charismatic Center. Burial was private.

Father Kenneth O’Malley, C.P.
DETROIT — Father Kenneth O’Malley, C.P., former spiritual director at St. Mary’s Seminary, died Jan. 23. He was 87 years old.
For many years he lived with and served in Houston’s Passionist community as local superior of the community at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center, as “help” in Archdiocesan parishes and as a spiritual director at St. Mary’s Seminary.
A funeral Mass was held Thursday, Feb. 2, at St. Paul of the Cross Retreat Center Chapel in Detroit, Michigan. Interment is in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan. 

Father Richard E. Paulissen, M.M.
MARYKNOLL, New York — Father Richard E. Paulissen, M.M., died Jan. 19. He was 92 years old.
A Maryknoll priest for 60 years, Father Paulissen founded the Catholic Charismatic Center in 1972 in Houston and served as its director until his retirement in 1999.
A memorial Mass was held Thursday, Jan. 25, at Queen of Apostles Chapel in Maryknoll, New York.