Father
John P. Gutekunst, 53, dies
By Lou Baldwin
Special to the CS&T
Father John P. Gutekunst, 53, parochial vicar at St. Christopher Parish,
died suddenly at the parish rectory on Dec. 24.
“His death really brought the parish together,” said Msgr.
Joseph P. Garvin, who broke the news to his parishioners at Christmas
Masses. “I never felt the sense of family here as I did at Father
John’s passing. Everyone came together in grief and to celebrate
his entrance into eternal life.”
Msgr. Garvin described Father Gutekunst as a good man who was loved by
the people, a priest who did his work and said his prayers, and who was
especially good to the sick and the troubled.
Born in Philadelphia, he was the son of the late Walter G. and Margaret
E. (Vargo) Gutekunst. He attended St. Cecilia School and La Salle College
High School before entering St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. He was ordained
May 17, 1980, by Cardinal John Krol at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter
and Paul, and his first assignment was as parochial vicar at St. Isidore
Parish in Quakertown. He also was a resident at Annunciation B.V.M Parish
and St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, and as well as chaplain at St. Agnes Medical
Center.
He was appointed parochial vicar at St. Christopher in June 2000.
His older brother, Walter, remembers Father Gutekunst as “a great
brother and a good man, and very devoted to our mother after Dad died.”
As a youngster, Father Gutekunst played Little League ball and did all
the things boys do, according to his brother, but from a very early age
he wanted to be a priest.
“He gave with all his heart. He enjoyed what he did and did it very
well,” Walter Gutekunst said. “There must have been a
thousand people at his [funeral] service.”
Dot Auerbach was one of those mourners. “He saw me through two major
surgeries, and my husband, too,” she said. At one point Father Gutekunst
could not drive for six months because of illness, and she was his volunteer
driver. “He was a perfect priest, so humble and so pleasant,”
she said.
Msgr. Paul J. Dougherty, a friend from seminary days, also said Father
Gutekunst never had any doubts about his vocation as a priest. “He
felt honored to be a priest. He wondered why he was called, but appreciated
that the Lord called him,” Msgr. Dougherty said.
“He was a good friend and always had a joke. I admired his long
service at St. Agnes — about 15 years,” Msgr. Dougherty
added. “He brought joy to a difficult situation.”
Father Gutekunst’s funeral Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Justin
Rigali at St. Christopher Church on Dec. 28. Concelebrants included Fathers
H. James Hutchins, Daniel E. Mackle, Anthony J. Cossavella and Peter J.
Welsh, who was the homilist.
Father Gutekunst is survived by his mother, Margaret, and his brother.
Interment was at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a freelance writer.
Obituaries
Compiled by Adam Dickerson
Sister
Mary Felicia Maestas
Sister Mary Felicia Maestas, S.B.S., formerly known as Rose Maestas, died
Dec. 20, 2007. She was 98. Born and baptized in Chamita, New Mexico, she
was the second oldest of six children born to Felix and Sofia Maestas.
She entered the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament on June 29, 1936, and
began her ministry in elementary education in Arizona. She also served
in Illinois, South Dakota, New York, New Mexico and California. In 2005,
she was assigned to St. Michael Hall, Bensalem, because of health concerns.
A funeral Mass was celebrated Dec. 27 at the motherhouse chapel of the
Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in Bensalem. Interment was in the motherhouse
cemetery. She is survived by her brother, Mariano Maestas; two sisters,
Clora Archuleta and Sally Barella; many nieces; nephews; great nieces
and nephews, and great-great nieces and nephews.
Sister Berenice Mulholland
Sister Berenice Mulholland, L.S.A., died Dec. 26, 2007. She was 98.
Born in Philadelphia, she was the daughter of the late John Joseph Mellon
and Anna Nigl Mellon. She was blessed with two vocations, as she was the
widow of Thomas Mulholland and later entered the Little Sisters of the
Assumption. As an Licensed Practical Nurse, she was served in New York,
Pennsylvania and North Carolina. She was predeceased by her brother, Lawrence
Mellon’ and her sisters, Helen Mellon, Marguerite Mellon, Ana McIntyre
and Dorothy Daly. A funeral Mass was celebrated on Dec. 29 at the Chapel
of the Little Sisters of the Assumption in Walden, N.Y. Burial was in
St. Charles Cemetery, Gardiner, N.Y. She is survived by her brother, John
Mellon.