NEWS :: Red Cloud Indian School

Red Cloud Mourns the Loss of Fr. "Bill" Pauly
December 1, 2006

Rev. William "Bill" Pauly, SJ, passed away on Wednesday, November 29 while studying in Chicago on a sabbatical. "Fr. Bill," as he was affectionately known as, was a friend to those not only living and working on the Pine Ridge Reservation, but to many across South Dakota.

A wake service will be held in the Paul "Dizzy" Trout Memorial Fieldhouse at the Holy Rosary Mission campus of Red Cloud Indian School at 8 p.m. on Wednesday evening, December 6, with a Mass of Christian Burial scheduled for 10 a.m. on Thursday, December 7.

In lieu of flowers, gifts can be sent to the Fr. Bill Pauly, S.J., Memorial Fund, Red Cloud Indian School, 100 Mission Drive, Pine Ridge, SD 57770-2100.

Fr. Bill first arrived at Red Cloud Indian School in 1989 and served as an Associate Pastor in a number of the Lakota Catholic parishes associated with the ministries of Red Cloud Indian School. During his time at Red Cloud he served in a number of capacities, including Superior of the Jesuit Community and Pastoral Coordinator.

His Lakota name, Wacin Yanpi, which means "Depends on him," was truly fitting for such a man who gave of himself for others.

Born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin on May 1, 1947, Fr. Bill was baptized at Holy Name Church. He attended St. Mary's Grade School in Port Washington, Wisconsin, and graduated high school from St. Lawrence Seminary, Mount Calvary, Wisconsin. In 1965, he entered the Society of Jesus at the Jesuit College in St. Bonifacius, Minnesota. He pronounced his vows as a Jesuit on September 8, 1967. After completing his collegiate studies at Saint Louis University, he received his Master of Arts degree in 1972. Following graduation he went to Creighton Preparatory School in Omaha, where he taught theology for three years. He then spent one year serving as a Chaplain at Mendota State Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. In 1976, Fr. Bill entered the theological studies program at Regis College in Toronto, Ontario where, in 1979, he received a Master's in Divinity degree. On June 15, 1979 he was ordained a priest at Gesu Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and continued ministry at Marquette University, teaching theology, serving as a Campus Minister, and as the Director of the Upward Bound Program until 1982. At that time, he began serving the community at St. Patrick's Parish in Milwaukee as their Pastor for the next six years. In 1988, he served at the Jesuit Novitiate in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1989 Fr. Pauly came to serve in the parish ministries associated with Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Fr. Bill pronounced his final vows as a Jesuit at Sacred Heart Church in Pine Ridge, SD, on September 12, 1993. From 1996 until 2002, he served as Superior of Jesuit Community and Pastoral Coordinator at Red Cloud Indian School. After 2002, he continued to serve his beloved people of the Pine Ridge in parish ministry until his departure to do additional theological studies during a sabbatical at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois .

For more information, or to share your stories about Fr. Bill, contact Tina Merdanian at 605/867-8211 or pr@redcloudschool.org.

Read the story that appeared in the Rapid City Journal at http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/11/30/news/top/news01.txt (reprinted with permission from the Rapid City Journal).