O CAPTAIN! my Captain!

“O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done; The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won… The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done; From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won; Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!”
 - Walt Whitman

It is with sorrow that we mourn the passing of our Pastor and Shepherd, Fr. Ed Ertzbischoff. And we celebrate with him his new life in the Lord. (I wonder if he joined all the priests in the “waiting room” (Purgatory) as he was so fond of saying.) My association with him goes back many years, possibly even 25 when I was head of the Parish Pastoral Council at Holy Trinity and we worked together on projects with St. John the Baptist. Some years later, after I was ordained, he invited me to assist him at the annual Memorial Day Mass he officiated at the St. John cemetery. That was the beginning of a long friendship. In many ways, he was the influence in my final decision to come to St. Joseph. Fr. Ed, though he had his moments, was a very peaceful man. I will always picture him in his recliner with at least two of his cats sleeping on his chest/stomach. He bore his infirmities with grace and very little complaint. He will be missed by all of us.

We are planning a parish memorial celebration of Fr. Ed’s contributions to the parish soon. All details will be forthcoming as soon as they are solidified. In the meantime, if you would like to jot down some anecdotes, remembrances, etc., please send them to the office and we will consolidate them into an album.

Peace, Blessings, and Joy
Deacon Stan

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