Rev. Alver W. Behrens

BEHRENS, NEU

Posted By: Bob McCleary (email)
Date: 8/30/2018 at 07:16:46

Rt. Rev. Msgr. Alver W. Behrens, 81, died Thursday, March 21, 2002, at Holy Spirit Retirement Center in Sioux City.

Services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at Sacred Heart Church in Templeton, Iowa, with the Most Rev. Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo and Bishop Lawrence D. Soens celebrating. Concelebrants will be the Revs. Cecil Friedman, Thomas Geelan, Mervin Hood, Leo Riesberg, Robert Schimmer, Merlin Schrad, Dale Reiff, Kenneth Siefried, Ray Wieling and Richard Remmes. Homilist will be the Rev. Robert Gralapp. The lector will be Ken Behrens. Gift Bearers will be Ray Taphorn, Wayne Siepker, Cletus Behrens, Tom Sibbel, Pat Bass, Vern Behrens, Richard Wuebker and Julie Clancy.

Burial will be in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton. The Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus will form an honor guard at the church for the rosary and the funeral mass.

Sharp Funeral Home of Carroll, Iowa, was in charge of arrangements.

Msgr. Behrens was born June 14, 1920, in Roselle, Iowa, the son of Joseph and Mary (Neu) Behrens. He graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Templeton in 1937. He then attended Trinity College in Sioux City, Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., University of Iowa in Iowa City, and Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis, MO.

He was ordained to the priesthood on June 2, 1945, at the Kenrick Seminary Chapel by John Cardinal Glennon. He celebrated his first mass on June 12, 1945, at Sacred Heart Church in Templeton. In June 1995, he celebrated his 50th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood.
He served as assistant pastor for Corpus Christi Parish in Ft. Dodge, Iowa, chaplain of St. Anthony's Orphanage and instructor at Heelan High School in Sioux City, and superintendent of Gehlen Schools and chaplain at Sacred Heart Hospital in Le Mars, Iowa, for six years. Following this he was diocesan superintendent of schools and director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine plus pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Neptune. He served as assistant secretary to the National Catholic Education Association in charge of the department of school superintendents in Washington, D.C. He became pastor of his home town parish, Sacred Heart of Templeton, where he served from 1966 to 1972. He also was superintendent of Dowling High School in Des Moines while maintaining his pastorate in Templeton.

His next assignments were as pastor at St. John Parish in Bancroft, Holy Name Parish in Marcus, Iowa, St. Mary Parish in Mapleton, Iowa, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Mt. Carmel, Iowa, and St. Francis Parish in Maple River, Iowa. He retired to Marcus in December 1993. In his retirement, he enjoyed helping other priests on weekends and traveling around the world. Throughout his years of administration, he had been active in many state and national organizations.

Survivors include many cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents.