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St. Anne’s priest Thomas Hayes dies at 66
Monsignor Thomas Hayes, who led St. Anne’s Catholic Church for 15 years, died Monday morning at Lodi Memorial Hospital, according to Deacon Karl Welsbacher. He was 66.
Thomas Hayes
Hayes had been hospitalized for almost two weeks because of breathing problems, Welsbacher said.
“He was a diabetic, and that was a big struggle for him,” parishioner Lydia Van Steyn said. “He had been hospitalized several times in the past few months.”
With Hayes’ death, Lodi’s only Catholic church is left with three priests for the approximately 3,000 families at the parish — Fathers Brandon Ware, Jairo Ramirez and Joseph Nguyen. Officials from the Stockton Diocese were unavailable for comment Monday afternoon.
Hayes was a very private person and didn’t want the parish worried about his health, Van Steyn said.
“It’s hard to believe that such a big man is dead,” said Monsignor Harmon Skillin, who was priest at St. Anne’s until 1994, when Hayes took over. “He was big on his devotion to the people, big on his devotion to the parish, big on his golf swing, big heart and soul.”
Hayes was named a monsignor by Pope Benedict XVI in mid-2007.
In the Catholic faith, being named a monsignor is an honor for work well done, but it doesn’t give him greater authority, Sister Terry Davis of the Stockton Diocese said in a 2007 interview. Hayes’ humble nature was such that he didn’t want to be called “monsignor,” Skillin and Welsbacher said.
Hayes was known as a private person who could be gruff, but showed his warmth once you got to know him.
“Monsignor Hayes was always rough around the edges, but he had a big heart. He was very generous,” Welsbacher said. “A lot of times, he wouldn’t pay me a compliment, but I would hear from other people that he spoke very highly of me.”
Skillin added, “A lot of people found it difficult to know him, but once you got to know him, you saw he was a very, very loving, caring, sensitive and humble person.”
Hayes was also known as a good administrator and updated the buildings and grounds at St. Anne’s. In addition to golf, he was a beekeeper and made honey, Skillin said. He also enjoyed gardening.
“In my opinion, he was a very traditional Catholic in his expression of his beliefs,” parishioner Janice Roth said. “Some priests now play guitars. He was just a traditional priest.”
Van Steyn said that Hayes became very concerned about pro-life issues in recent years. He also had a great love for his native Ireland, his family and his Irish upbringing, she said.
Funeral arrangements are pending at Lodi Funeral Home.
Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.
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britbrat11 wrote on Apr 15, 2009 7:03 PM:
chicaluv6 wrote on Apr 15, 2009 1:06 PM:
lindseylarsonhepburn wrote on Apr 15, 2009 10:23 AM:
I pray that he is forever joined to our Lord in the eternal banquet. As we ask him to pray us there... "
southlodidrummer wrote on Apr 14, 2009 10:54 PM:
emonica8 wrote on Apr 14, 2009 3:36 PM:
thatswhatshesaid wrote on Apr 14, 2009 9:22 AM:
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