By Patrick Downes | Hawaii Catholic Herald

Maryknoll Father Elias Joseph Tederous, who spent most of his 52 years of priesthood serving rural parishes on the Big Island and on the Waianae Coast, died May 9, at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. He was 87.

Father Tederous was born on July 19, 1920, in Dunkirk, N.Y., of Lebanese descent. He attended Catholic elementary and high school graduating in 1938. He was drafted into the U.S. Army with the 159th Field Artillery battalion and later served with the infantry in Europe during World War II, from 1943 to 1946.

Reflecting on his priesthood on the 50th anniversary of his ordination, Father Tederous said that while fighting in Europe, “I witnessed a lot of human suffering and it was then when I decided to do something with my life in reaching out to help others as a missionary priest. On being discharged from the Army, I entered Maryknoll.”

He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Maryknoll Seminary in Ossining in 1950.

Ordained a priest on June 11, 1955, Father Tederous’ first assignment was as associate pastor at St. John the Baptist Church in Kalihi. After two years, he moved to the Big Island to serve first at St. Benedict Parish in Honaunau, and then St. Joseph Parish in Hilo.

In 1962, he was named the first Maryknoll pastor of Good Shepherd Parish in Honomu and its Sacred Heart Mission in Hakalau, serving when it was a thriving parish with 350 attending Sunday Mass and 250 in religious education classes.

While at Good Shepherd, he refurbished the church adding new pews and carpets, and louvered windows and light fixtures, updating it for the liturgical renewal of the Second Vatican Council. He also renovated Sacred Heart Mission.

In 1972, Father Tederous was assigned as pastor of neighboring St. Anthony Parish in Papaaloa.

Good Shepherd became a mission of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Papaikou in 1976, the same year the Hakalau mission closed.

Father Tederous was sent to do mission education and promotion work in Philadelphia and Buffalo, N.Y., from 1978 to 1981, after which he returned to Oahu to Sacred Heart Parish in Waianae.

He served as an associate pastor in Waianae until 1999, when he was assigned as a “sacramental priest” at Sacred Heart Church, Punahou.

Father Tederous left the islands to retire in 2005.

His funeral was May 13 in Queen of Apostles Chapel at Maryknoll Society Center in Ossining, N.Y., followed by burial at Maryknoll Cemetery.

Father Tederous is survived by his brother, George Tederous, of Dunkirk.

Memorial donations in Father Tederous’s name may be made to the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, P.O. Box 302, Maryknoll, N.Y., 10545.