May they rest in peace

Clergy, religious and notable laity with Hawaii ties who went before us in 2009

By Anna Weaver | Hawaii Catholic Herald

Here is a list of priests, sisters, brothers, deacons and other notable Catholics with an island connection who died in 2009. They are listed in alphabetical order.

• Elizabeth “Kuulei” Bell. Kalaupapa patient and resident, outspoken advocate for those with Hansen’s disease; a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who presented Pope John Paul II with a lei at Father Damien’s 1995 beatification in Belgium.
• David Brede. A lesser-known Kalaupapa patient and resident, he had turned his life around after the suffering the effects of ill health and a massive stroke.
• Father Edwin Duffy. At 99, he was Hawaii’s oldest priest and had served diocese for 48 years. A former pastor and head of Catholic Charities, he wrote the “Father Duffy’s Reflections” column for the Hawaii Catholic Herald after he retired.
• Msgr. Bernard Eikmeier. Recruited by Bishop James Sweeney from Josephinum Seminary in Ohio, he served 58 years as a parish priest and pastor in Hawaii; and was a longtime Cursillo and Holy Name Society spiritual director and Knights of Columbus supporter.
• Maryknoll Sister Sarah Fogarty. Imprisoned by the Japanese in Korea during World War II, she served in Hawaii in the 1970s and 1980s as a teacher in a number of grade schools on Oahu and as an English teacher to immigrants.
• Franciscan Sister Gretchen Gilroy. The former chief executive officer of both St. Francis Medical Center-West in Ewa and St. Francis Medical Center in Liliha.
• Father John J. Halloran. Retired priest for the Diocese of Honolulu, he served on Oahu as a pastor, hospitals minister and as a spiritual director of lay associations in the 1970s.
• Maryknoll Sister Mary Heath. First assigned to Hawaii in 1948 as a social worker for Catholic Charities in Honolulu, and four decades later as the coordinator of Project Rachel, a post-abortion reconciliation program sponsored by the Diocesan Respect Life Office.
• Sacred Hearts Sister Mary Charlotte Kahalewai. Served as an elementary school teacher, school secretary, cook, parish outreach minister and tutor for more than 60 years in Hawaii and southern California.
• Marilynn Aulani Kauhane. A Catholic school educator for 20 years, she was a teacher and principal of Cathedral Catholic Academy in Honolulu,
• Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet Judith Marie Klump. Taught at St. Joseph School, Waipahu, Christ the King School, Kahului, and St. Anthony School, Kailua, in the 1960s and 1970s.
• Florence “Flo” McPeek. Retired public school teacher and co-director with her husband, Deacon Bill McPeek, of the diocese’s last two deacon formation programs.
• Holy Family Sister Elizabeth Murray. Religious education coordinator, catechist and pastoral worker who served at Annunciation Parish in Waimea, Hawaii, for 13 years.
• Henry Nalaielua. Kalau- papa patient and resident, artist, musician and memoir author, he was among the Hansen’s disease patients who attended the 1995 beatification of Father Damien in Belgium.
• Father Jack Newton. A retired Navy chaplain, he spent 26 years after leaving military service serving as a priest in Hawaii parishes, primarily St. John Vianney Church in Kailua.
• Capuchin Franciscan Father John “Jack” Niland. A Capuchin for 42 years whose final assignment since 1999 was the pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Pearl City.
• Maryknoll Sister Winifred O’Donnell. From the 1940s to the 1960s, she taught at, or served as principal for, Maryknoll School in Honolulu, St. Ann School in Kaneohe, St. Michael School in Waialua and St. Anthony School in Kalihi.
• Bernard Punikaia. Sent to Kalaupapa as a child, this charismatic, internationally-known activist, who was also a songwriter and musician, fought for the rights and dignity of those with leprosy from Hawaii to the United Nations, and beyond.
• Margaret M. “Mickey” Reich. As a lifelong volunteer, and outreach coordinator for the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace for 25 years, she served downtown Honolulu’s hungry, homeless and mentally ill population earning the respect and admiration of many in the social services field.
• Maryknoll Sister Marguerite Retter. For more than 20 years in Hawaii she worked as a school teacher, retreat center volunteer and adult literacy worker.
• Sulpician Father John Ward. As rector of Oahu’s St. Stephen Seminary from 1954 to 1965, he mentored many new diocesan priests in the growing diocese, and later served as vocations consultant at St. Stephen from 1981 to 1986.
• Mary Civille “Sue” Wesselkamper. Chaminade University of Honolulu’s eighth and longest serving president, she oversaw a period of unprecedented growth for the campus during her 13 years in the position.