Three of the men who were ordained by Bishop Thomas E. Molloy on June 9, 1951, at St. James Pro-Cathedral, Downtown Brooklyn, are marking their 65th years as priests. Here are brief biographies of those men:
Msgr. George T. Deas, who lives at the Bishop Mugavero Residence for retired priests, will celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Church, Bayside, on Sunday, June 12, at noon.
Born in Jamaica, Queens, he was raised in Our Lady of the Cenacle parish, Richmond Hill.
He attended P.S. 117; Bishop Loughlin M.H.S., and Cathedral College, both Brooklyn, and Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, L.I.
He served as an assistant at St. Francis of Assisi, Crown Heights, 1951, and the following year he was appointed to the faculty of Cathedral College, Brooklyn.
In 1967 when the Douglaston campus of Cathedral College opened, he was assigned to be one of the first spiritual directors there.
In 1971, Bishop Francis J. Mugavero appointed him to be one of the first episcopal vicars.
He became pastor of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament parish, Bayside, in 1979, and served there until 1997 when he retired.
He did graduate studies at Columbia University, Manhattan, and Iona College, New Rochelle.
He has been a member of the first Priests’ Senate, the Committee for Priestly Concerns, the Presbyteral Council, and a member of the boards of governors of the Immaculate Conception Seminary, St. Vincent’s Services and Holy Cross H.S. in Bayside.
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Father Thomas D. J. Dolan, who has lived at the Bishop Mugavero Residence for retired priests in Douglaston since 2011, is a native of Brooklyn who lived for a short time in New Jersey before returning to Bay Ridge.
He attended St. Anselm’s School, Cathedral Prep, and Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, L.I. He was ordained June 9, 1951.
He served as an assistant at St. Francis Xavier, Park Slope, 1951-67; Good Shepherd, Marine Park, 1967-77; and St. Elizabeth, Ozone Park, 1977-99.
He retired in 1999 and continued to live at St. Elizabeth’s rectory until the move to Douglaston.
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Msgr. Robert J. Ecker, who lives in Coronado, Calif., will celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving on Thursday, June 9, at the Chapel of the Sisters of Nazareth, Nazareth House in San Diego, Calif.
Born and raised in St. Therese of Lisieux parish, Montauk, L.I., he attended Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, L.I., and St. Mary’s Seminary, Baltimore, Md.
He served as an assistant at Our Lady of Angels, Bay Ridge, 1951-62, and Our Lady of Lourdes, Queens Village, 1962, before entering the U.S. Navy where he served for 29 years as a chaplain.
Since 1991, he has been helping to preach parish spiritual renewals.
Msgr. Ecke,
Jack and Jean Monigan (Jean Dillon from OLA) are visiting in Quantico, VA and we’re thinking of you. We hope all is well.
After attending the Navy Supply Corps Ball last evening, we were very lucky to attend Mass at Immaculate Conception Parish in San Diego. What a privilege and a portentous blessing to find Mons Bob Ecker celebrating his 92nd birthday. He turned the Holy Mass into an inspiration. This fabulous priest sheds love, compassion, hope and faith from every cell of his body. Keep up the amazing work dear Monsignor Ecker. Happy birthday and many, many more,
Marie and Arthur