Homer DeWalt Obituary

The Reverend Monsignor Homer C. DeWalt, age 94, passed away in Canton, Ohio on Wednesday, January 15, 2014. He was born on July 2, 1919 in Titusville, Pennsylvania, the son of Walter O. and Mary E. (Hart) DeWalt. He attended the public schools in Titusville, graduating from Colestock High School in 1937.

After graduating from Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1941, he was employed in Detroit until his entry in the military service with his brother, Walter O. DeWalt, in 1942, with discharge in 1946.

He entered Saint Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore to study Theology and was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Erie by Archbishop John Mark Gannon in 1950. He began his priestly ministry by teaching at Cathedral Preparatory School and then at Gannon College. After earning a Master's Degree from John Carroll University, he was appointed Superintendent of Schools (1962-1982) and Director of the Diocesan CCD Office (1962-1964). In 1965, he obtained a Doctoral Degree from the University of Minnesota. That same year he was invited to participate in the White House Conference on Education, and he met President Lyndon Johnson at that time. During these years he served as Chaplain to the Sisters of Villa Maria College. In 1982, he became Associate Dean of Education at the Villa Maria College and was shortly thereafter appointed Assistant to the President for Diocesan Affairs of Gannon University (1983-1987). He also served a twenty year term as a member of the Diocesan Finance Committee.

Msgr. DeWalt was a member of the Education Department of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, a member of the Status and Functions Committee of the Superintendent's Department of the National Catholic Education Association, a member of the Erie Rotary Club, and a member of the Sons of the American Revolution.

From 1983 to 1990, he served as Administrator of Saint Cyprian Church in Waterford. In 1990, he was assigned as Chaplain at John XXIII Home in Hermitage, PA, a post he held until 1997. In 1993, he participated in an audience with Pope John Paul II in Rome. He was a member of the Sharon Rotary Club. During his last years in Erie, he was a member of the Erie Bridge Center. Msgr. DeWalt retired in September 1997, living in Erie until 2002, when he took permanent residence at the House of Loreto in Canton, Ohio. He passed away there, leaving a sister, Mrs. F. Rosemary English and a brother-in-law, Robert J. English of Rocky River, Ohio and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Friends may call on Thursday, January 23, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. until the time of the Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. at St. Peter's Cathedral in Erie, with The Most Reverend Lawrence T. Persico, Bishop of Erie, as the main celebrant. Further visitation will be on Friday, January 24, 2014 from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the Memorial Mass at 11:00 a.m. at Saint Titus Church in Titusville, PA. Burial will follow in Saint Catharine Cemetery, in Titusville.

The Francis V. Kloecker Funeral Home, Inc. is in charge of local arrangements. Send condolences to www.kloeckerfuneralhome.com.

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