By Mary Grieco
Catholic Herald correspondent
Parishioners surprise Horath on 70th birthday
|
Sugar Camp and Three Lakes parishioners threw a surprise 70th birthday party for Fr. William Horath, their pastor. (Submitted photo) |
THREE LAKES --Fr. William Horath's parishioners are very good at keeping a secret. Since last summer, an extraordinary surprise had been planned for his 70th birthday. When the presentation was made, he was nearly speechless.
The surprise was an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii and a generous check for spending money. "Nobody had said a word," Horath noted. "It just floored me, and I didn't know what to say. How do you say thank-you for something like that?"
The weekend of his birthday (Nov. 10) presentations were made following Masses at his two parishes, St. Theresa in Three Lakes and St. Kunegunda in Sugar Camp. The religious education children also held a birthday celebration during the week.
Early in the year, Dave Schneider came up with the idea of "doing something special to pay tribute to the ministry that he does." With help from deacon Al Goodrich and others, Schneider went about raising funds for the surprise.
"Our goal was five to six thousand dollars," he said, "and we doubled that." More than 300 contributors responded to a mailing, including many non-parishioners.
"Father Bill has touched a lot of hearts," Goodrich said.
Schneider and Goodrich joked that they are willing to go along as bodyguards, but Horath will have other company on the trip. His brothers, Frs. Jim and George, were in on the secret plans, and they will also be going. The three have made several trips to Hawaii and have a favorite spot on the "Big Island" that they're anxious to revisit in January.
Last year, a diagnosis of lung cancer curtailed Horath's ministry and travel plans. This year, his brothers led him to believe that they would be visiting their sister, Mary Jean, in Florida during the winter. She, too, played along with the surprise.
Horath has good reason to be optimistic and grateful after what he describes as "celebrating my thirty-ninth birthday for the thirty-first time." He recently received an "all-clear" report from his oncologist. "They (parishioners) have been praying for me like crazy, and I feel great," he said. "You have to be careful what you pray for; now they're stuck with me.
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2002