Shepler,Charles C.

SHEPLER, FREDERICKSEN

Posted By: carol (email)
Date: 10/10/2005 at 14:15:51

Rev. Charles C. Shepler, 87, of Clinton, Iowa, the oldest priest in the Diocese of Davenport, died Monday, May 16, 2005, at the Alverno Health Care Facility in Clinton. Fr. Shepler had suffered a heart attack on Holy Thursday. During his recovery it was discovered that the cancer he had been battling for the past three years had returned. A Requiem Mass will be offered at St. Irenaeus Church in Clinton at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 19, 2005. Visitation will be 5-7 p.m. today at the Pape Funeral Home in Clinton where a rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Additional visitation will be held from 9 a.m. until the Mass on Thursday at the church. Burial will be in St. Irenaeus Calvary Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Bob Smithburg, Jacob David, Jim Hilgendorf, Tom David, Pat Reed and Jeff Archer.
Fr. Shepler was born September 7, 1917, in Clinton, the son of Charles C. and Emma A. Fredericksen Shepler. He studied at St. Ambrose College in Davenport and attended Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis. Charles was ordained to the priesthood on September 18, 1943, at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport, by Bishop Henry Rohlman D.D. He celebrated his first solemn Mass in St. Irenaeus Church. His first assignment was as chaplain at the Iowa State Penitentiary and as an assistant at St. Joseph Parish in Fort Madison from 1943 to 1946. Charles served St. Ambrose College and St. Ambrose University for many years as a member of the faculty from 1946 until his retirement in 1987. He also attended Northwestern University and received his master's degree from Notre Dame in 1952. He then assumed duties as professor of speech at St. Ambrose. In 1957 Fr. Shepler was appointed dean of men at St. Ambrose and later assumed teaching duties as a professor in the religion department.
Fr. Shepler was the founder and general manager of the St. Ambrose Television Station. He offered Mass every Sunday for 49 years at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Silvis, Ill. He was a certified scuba diver and was instrumental in developing underwater communications for divers. Father returned to Clinton in 1992 and along with his friend, Monsignor Burke, established the Catholic Heritage Foundation of Clinton. Father offered the Latin Mass in the Tridentine Rite for the Traditional Catholic Community of Clinton for several years until his health made it impossible to continue. Following further illness in 2002, he retired to his home on the bank of the Mississippi River in rural Cordova, Ill.
Father is survived by a nephew, Larry Shepler, of the monastic community, Brothers and Sisters of Charity, and several other nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, four brothers and two sisters. Memorials may be made to KXJX Catholic Radio Station.
Published in the Quad-City Times from 5/17/2005 - 5/18/2005.