NEWS :: Red Cloud Indian School

Beloved Jesuit from Red Cloud passes away
posted on Sept. 04, 2009

Fr. Earl Kurth SJ departed this world on September 2, 2009. With his passing, Red Cloud Indian School has lost a dear member of the Red Cloud family.

“Given his intense dedication to the Pine Ridge Reservation, we can be confident that he will be always be with us and supporting us in prayer and spirit. May God grant Fr. Earl Kurth eternal life and let us pray in thanksgiving for all that Fr. Earl meant to our ministries at Red Cloud Indian School,” says Fr. Peter Klink SJ, president of Red Cloud Indian School.

Known for his hardwork and dedication for over 30 years, Fr. Kurth served the Lakota people on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and the students of Red Cloud Indian School.

Respecting and honoring Fr. Earl J. Kurth, S.J.: A Memorial Mass: praying for and honoring Fr. Earl for his many years of generous service and caring, will be held on Tuesday, September 15, at 5:15 p.m. in the Holy Rosary Church. All of those who knew Fr. Earl – or have come to know of the wonderful impact of his life – are invited to come and pray. The Mass will be followed by a meal in Serena Hall

Visitation will begin at 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 10, in the Round Chapel on the second floor at St. Camillus, 10100 W. Blue Mound Rd., Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Following the visitation, a Mass of Christian Burial will occur at 7 p.m. Fr. Kurth will be buried at Calvary Cemetery on Friday at 9 a.m.

Red Cloud is currently planning a memorial service to take place on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Details will be forthcoming.

Fr. Kurth was born in Waterloo, Iowa on November 3, 1916 and was baptized at St. Mary’s Church. He attended St. Mary’s grade school and St. Mary’s High School, graduating in 1934. After two years of college at Columbia College in Dubuque, Iowa, he joined the Society of Jesus on September 1, 1936 at St. Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant, Missouri. He pronounced his first vows on September 8, 1938.

Following two years of humanities studies at St. Stanislaus, he attended St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri where he received an A.B. in Latin (1940) and simultaneous M.A. and Ph.L degrees in Medieval History (1943). Earl did his regency as a teacher of Latin at St. Louis University High School and then moved to St. Marys College in St. Marys, Kansas for theology studies. He was ordained on June 14, 1949 in St. Marys by Bishop Ignatius Glennie, S.J.

His first assignment as priest was as Associate Pastor at St. Stephen’s Mission in St. Stephens, Wyoming, where he pronounced his final vows on August 15, 1952. He was Superior of that Mission from 1953 to 1961. Fr. Kurth was then missioned to the Jesuit College in St. Bonifacius, Minnesota as Novice Director for the novice Brothers.

In 1965 he was named Superior of Holy Rosary Mission in the Pine Ridge, South Dakota. In 1967, Fr Kurth was named Director of Red Cloud Indian School and later served as Director of Development and as minister to the Jesuit Community for twelve years. On February 2,1977, he made his solemn profession.

In 1987, Fr Kurth left Red Cloud to serve as an associate pastor at St. Peter and Paul Church in Mankato, Minnesota. In 1996, He returned to the Pine Ridge Reservation to serve as a minister. In 2003, as his health required closer attention, he was missioned to pray for the Church and the Society as a member of the Jesuit Community at St. Camillus in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin where he passed.

“The Fr. Earl J. Kurth, S.J. Memorial Fund” has been established which will be used to continue provide a brighter future for the children and their families. Contributions in memory of Fr. Kurth can be mailed to Red Cloud Indian School 100 Mission Drive, Pine Ridge, SD 57770

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