Ament, Rev. Robert Joseph 1927-2010
AMENT, MURRAY, WHALEN, MCCLUSKEY
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 8/10/2012 at 12:00:10
Rev. Robert J. Ament, age 83, of Fort Atkinson, Iowa, died on Thursday, February 18, 2010, at his sister’s home in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m., Friday, February 26, 2010, at St. John’s Catholic Church in Fort Atkinson, Iowa, with Archbishop Jerome Hanus and Rev. David Beckman presiding. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Anamosa, Iowa.
Friends may call from 2:00-8:00 p.m. on Thursday at the church and on Friday morning until time of mass at St. John’s Catholic Church in Fort Atkinson, Iowa. There will be a rosary at 4:00 p.m. and scripture service at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Schluter – Balik Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Robert Joseph Ament was born on January 20, 1927, in Anamosa, Iowa, the son of Albert and Laura (Murray) Ament. He attended school at Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du Chien, WI, and thereafter at Loras College in Dubuque, graduating in 1948, with a B.A. in Philosophy. Answering a call to a religious vocation, he was sent by his bishop to attend seminary at the Theological College of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and was ordained to the priesthood on April 26, 1952, at Christ the King Chapel, Loras College. Father Ament worked to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments at twenty-two parishes, hospitals, a high school, and an Air Force Radar Base in the Archdiocese for forty-five years, before retiring in 1997 to Fort Atkinson, where he resided until his death.
Because of the shortage of priests, Father Bob’s retirement was decidedly active in assisting and substituting for priests needing help, and family and friends were amused that he found it necessary to schedule vacation times for himself while in retirement. Above all, he remained strenuously involved in the Pro-Life Movement.
In addition to his higher callings, Father Bob loved travel in all its various modes and, in particular, continued his life-long love of motorcycles. A 1979 article in The Decorah Journal pictures him in front of St. John’s Rectory in Fort Atkinson with six other leather-jacketed cyclists, four of whom are his pallbearers today. They called their group “The Pilgrims”—pilgrims through life and pilgrims to many shrines and historic places. With these friends and others who joined later, Fr. Bob achieved a goal of cycling his “Harley” in all of the 48 contiguous states—logging 160,000 miles. But perhaps his most memorable pilgrimage was the one to Rome highlighted by a meeting with Pope John Paul II.
Music was another great love. He was a skilled pianist who easily got groups singing old favorites at gatherings and reunions.
Father Bob is survived by his two sisters: Mary Flo (Mike) Whalen, Santa Fe, NM, and Mary Ann (John) McCluskey, Glen Ellyn, IL., and his brother: Dr. Ernest J. (Beryl) Ament, Grosse Pointe Park, MI. He is beloved by twenty nieces and nephews and 49 great nieces and nephews, all of whom he assisted into and in life through his prayers and blessings. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Robert Joseph Ament was born on January 20, 1927, the son of Albert J. and Laura (Murray) Ament in Anamosa, Iowa. Robert attended Anamosa Public School and high school at Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie de Chien, Wisconsin, graduating in 1944. He graduated from Loras College in Dubuque in 1948, with a Bachelor of Philosophy. He attended Seminary at the Catholic University of America Theological College in Washington, D.C. from 1948-52. Robert was ordained into the priesthood on April 26, 1952, at Christ the King Chapel, at Loras College in Dubuque. Father Ament served as assistant pastor at Visitation Parish in Stacyville and St. Mel Parish, McIntire from May 19, 1952 – June 3, 1953; St. Patrick’s Parish in Dubuque from June 3, 1953 – Sept. 1, 1958; St. Joseph’s Parish in Dubuque from Sept. 1, 1958 – May 19, 1961; Mercy Hospital in Waverly, Holy Name Parish in Shell Rock and the Air Force Radar Base in Waverly, from May 19, 1961 – Sept. 11, 1963; LaSalle High School in Cedar Rapids from Sept. 11, 1963 – June 26, 1965; St. Ansgar Parish from June 26, 1965 – Aug. 19, 1965; Immaculate Conception Parish and St. Patrick’s Parish of St. Cecilia in Elma from Aug. 19, 1965 – Aug. 9, 1967; Became head pastor at St. Joseph’s Parish in Stone City and St. Isidore, Springville, from Aug. 9, 1967 – Aug. 23, 1972; St. Francis Xavier Parish in Barclay, the Black Hawk County Home, rural Dunkerton, and Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo from Aug. 23, 1972 – Jan. 11, 1977; St. John’s Nepomucene Parish in Fort Atkinson, from Jan. 11, 1977 – July 14, 1981; St. Francis Xavier Parish, Belmond, from July 14, 1981 – June 24, 1986; Sacred Heart Church, Oxford Junction and Holy Trinity Parish, Baldwin, from June 24, 1986 – July 17, 1990; and Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Lourdes and St. Stephen Parish in Chester, from July 17, 1990 – July 15, 1997. Father Ament, then retired and moved to Fort Atkinson, Iowa, in 1997, where he has resided ever since.
Source: Schluter - Balik Funeral Home database
Winneshiek Obituaries maintained by Jeff Getchell.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen