Fr. Calkins dies at the age of 84

June 1, 2006

Father Raymond Calkins, 84, a retired priest of the Diocese of Sioux City, died May 28 at the Baptist Hospital in Montgomery, Ala.

The funeral Mass was celebrated at 10 a.m. on June 2 at the Maxwell Air Force Base Chapel #1 in Montgomery with Father Linn Harbour as celebrant. Burial will be at a later date at the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. The Christian Wake Service was held June 1 at the Leak Funeral Chapel in Montgomery.

Father Calkins, a native of Emmetsburg, was born on July 11, 1921. He graduated from Emmetsburg Catholic High School. He attended Trinity College in Sioux City and St. Mary Seminary in Baltimore, Md. He earned a master's from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

He was ordained to the priesthood on June 15, 1946 at Cathedral of the Epiphany. He celebrated his 60th anniversary as a priest this year.

Father Calkins served as chaplain at St. Anthony's in Sioux City, assistant pastor at St. Mary in Ashton, chaplain at Holy Family Hospital in Estherville, assistant pastor at St. Joseph in Granville, assistant pastor at St. Mary's in Danbury, pastor at St. Mary in Pomeroy and administrator of St. Mary's in Hawarden. From 1955 to 1984, he was on duty outside the diocese, serving as a chaplain in the United States Air Force.

He retired in 1984 and had been living in Montgomery, Ala.