Pontifical Rites Monday
Msgr. Boeke Dies;
Built St. Paul Parish
The beloved Rt. Rev. Msgr. Clement H. Boeke, pastor of Akron's largest Catholic parish, St. Paul Church in Firestone Park, died at 8 this morning In St Thomas Hospital of uremic poisoning. He would have been 75 on Nov. 14.
Msgr. Boeke remained vigorous until the day before he entered St. Thomas on
Aug. 5.
WITH HIM this morning was the Rev. Joseph P. Horan, assistant pastor of the church.
A brother of the monsignor, Fred of Cleveland, was en route here when death came.
Another brother, John lives in Coldwater, Mich.SERVICES on Monday are being arranged by the Hummel Funeral Home.
Divine Office will be at 10:30 a.m. at St. Paul Church, followed by the Pontifical Funeral Mass with the Most Rev. Floyd L. Begin, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland, as the celebrant.
The Most Rev. Edward F. Hoban, Archbishop of the Dlocese, will preside.
The list of others who will have offices in the "Mass is not yet complete. However, three relatives of Msgr. Boeke, all priests from the Diocese of Cincinnati, will be among them. They are the Revs. Aloysius and Ansolm Boeke, nephews, and the Rev. Harold Bernard, a grand nephew.
MSGR. BOEKE (“Boekyj”} was assigned to St. Paul Church in 1924. He served there so long that his earlier life was merely a preface.
The monsignor was born on a 350-acre farm near Cassella in Mercer County. He milked three cows every morning and walked a mile and one-half to a one-room country school.
His rural childhood gave Msgr. Boeke an abiding interest in the health and vigor of children in his parish. He was a good athlete and he encouraged the young people to take part in sports.
MSGR. BOEKE attended St. Joseph College at Rensselaer, Ind., and was graduated from St. Mary Seminary in Baltimore. He was ordained May 11, 1912 by the late Bishop John P. Farrelly of the Diocese of Cleveland.
In the next 12 years, Msgr. Boeke served as assistant at St. Mary in Massillon , assistant at St. Peter in Cleveland, pastor of St. Philip Neri a Dungannon, founder of St.. Agatha at Power Point and pastor of St. George in Lisbon, O.
Msgr. Boeke had served his “apprenticeship” in the priestly ranks and it was time for a major assignment – St. Paul Church. But it didn’t look like much of a job.
ST, PAUL had been organized as a parish in 1929.
As he did for many churches in the Firestone Park area, the late Harvey S. Flrestone had donated land and the parishioners had erected a $65,000 church.
But the first pastor had died an untimely death, the post-war slump had hit the rubber
shops and the St. Paul Church stood uncomfortably in a sea of mud
Msgr. Boeke took care of the needy kids first. He trucked in loads of potatoes for hungry families and escorted children into Firestone Park clothing stores where they were fitted with the clothes they needed. What he couldn’t get for free, Msgr. Boeke paid for out of his own pocket.
AS AKRON recovered and Firestone Park began expanding, Msg. Boeke began his own building program to keep St. Paul Parish out in front in meeting the spiritual obligations to its parishioners.
A rectory was built in 1925 and an eight-room school in 1926. Then came the lean 1920s and the wartime 1940s.But Msgr. Boeke managed to insert a project between – a 13-room convent addition for the Dominican Sisters who teach at St. Paul.
MSGR. BOEKE was 60 in 1946 when World War II was finally over and peacetime construction would be resumed. Far from being over the hill, the monsignor was one of the first to get started with a church building program.
A $200,000 school addition was constructed, followed shortly by a $100,000 rectory.
Another school, a convent and chapel were constructed.
A 750-seat chapel was finished in 1958, completing an entire city block or religious structures.
By now the original 150 families of St. Paul Church hd grown to more than 2,400.
HOWEVER, no matter how large St. Paul grew, Msgr. Boeke never forgot the children. Once when name cards for children to be confirmed were lost at the last minute, Msgr. conducted the ceremony relying only on his memory for names of more than 100 children.
During the Christmas Mass he would often stop and fire questions at his young parishioners. He believed dancing made for good health and good athletes, so it is taught every week at St. .Paul.
ALTHOUGH vigorous and healthy, Msgr. Boeke has had periods of \ill health. He suffered a serious bout with pneumonia in the 1920s. In 1958 he was operated on for cancer. But he always bounced back.
Although he helped found South Akron Council 3410 of the Knights of Columbus, Msgr. was not a joiner. His only other affiliation was with the Akron Liedertafel.
He stuck close to the parish and disliked attending banquets in downtown Akron because “I wouldn’t know anybody and nobody would know me.” Occasionally he did go and, of course, was well-known to scores.
The high point of Msgr. Boeke’s religious career came in 1954 when he was elevated to domestic prelate by Pope Pius XII.
The grave of Rt. Rev. Monsignor Clement H. Boeke is in Section 3, Lot 708 Holy Cross Cemetery. He was pastor of St. Paul from September 8, 1924 until his death on November 1, 1961. He was born November 14, 1886 in Mercer County, Ohio
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