John Nagele

Fr. John Nagele, C.PP.S., 81, died at 12:30 p.m. at St. Charles Center, after a brief illness. He was born to Leo and Mary Ann (Cronin) Nagele. He entered the society on September 9, 1940, and was ordained on June 4, 1953. Fr. Nagele spent his life as a priest in pastoral ministry. He was an assistant pastor at St. Augustine Church in Rensselaer, Ind., after his ordination, and also served as an assistant at Holy Angels Church, Dayton, Ohio; St. Anthony Church, Falls Church, Va.; and Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Cleveland; before becoming pastor of St. Anthony Church in Falls Church in 1971. He spent 10 years there, then became pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel in 1981. In 1991, he spent a few years as pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Niles, Mich., until he was assigned to the staff of the Sorrowful Mother Shrine in Bellevue, Ohio, in 1996. In 1999, he was appointed pastor of the cluster of parishes close to the shrine, St. Michael Church of Marywood, Ohio; St. Sebastian Church of Bismark, Ohio; and the Church of the Assumption in Reed, Ohio. He helped the people there through a difficult time of parish consolidation. In July 2007, at the age of 80, he accepted a new assignment as administrator of Mother of Sorrows Church of Put-in-Bay, Ohio, and St. Michael Church on Kelleys Island, Ohio. Ill health forced him to move to St. Charles in the fall. Fr. Nagele was a committed pastor who stood by his people in good times and in bad. He was described as "a pastor's pastor," and often went beyond what was expected of him in his ministry to the people of God. His nephew, John Greulich, remembers him as similarly devoted to his own family. "He was the great patriarch of the family," Greulich said. "Within the family he performed all the baptisms, weddings and funerals. He was very supportive of all his nieces and nephews. He spent a lot of time with us." Fr. Nagele was preceded in death by two sisters, Margaret and Elizabeth. He is survived by a number of nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. A Mass of Christian burial at St. Charles Center, with Fr. Angelo Anthony, C.PP.S., presiding.