Parish News: Fr. Bill Pauly, S.J. Remembered

This parish news is something new for us, and I felt that we should start by featuring an individual that touched so many lives.

Have you ever met someone and felt like you knew them your whole life? Fr. William Pauly, S.J.or Fr. Pauly as we referred to him was such an individual. As fellow Jesuit Pat Burns explained; you didn’t just meet Bill Pauly, you were befriended by him.

Fr. Bill Pauly came to the Reservation and Holy Rosary Mission in 1989 and served here for seventeen years. At the time of his unexpected death on November 29, 2006 he was in his fourth month of a much deserved Sebatical. In his time here he touched the lives of nearly every parishioner from every parish on this Reservation.

He had the most infectious smile and the craziest laugh. He also had a sidekick, a stuffed monkey. They worked Red Cloud Indian School Campus and the Reservation spreading happiness and their joy for life. There wasn’t a child or adult that wasn’t touched when those two were at work.

It is not possible to do justice to the greatness of this one man and his extraordinary heart with words. The best example I have follows.

In the last few years of his life one of his main jobs was performing funerals. I asked him if it made him sad presiding over funerals. He told me that there is a love and a beauty in people that is only present in their sorrow, and that he took that away. That is the special man he was. He could find the beauty even in desperation and sadness. He was and always will be a part of parish life, and he is missed greatly.

In his honor the Fr. Bill Pauly, S,J. Memorial Fund has been established to help support the Red Cloud Indian School parishes and schools. Fr. Bill dedicated his life to both of these efforts.

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