Remembering Father J. Paul Alvey

By Monsignor Mark Duchaine
Jan. 25, 2007

I can remember very clearly my first encounter with Father Paul Alvey, who died in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Dec. 27 at the age of 79. It was the summer of 1978 and I was newly ordained to the priesthood, beginning my first assignment as assistant pastor of St. Cecelia Parish in Algona. Father Paul had just become pastor of St. Michael Parish in Whittemore, about ten miles down the road.

For reasons that I cannot now remember, I had occasion to drive to Whittemore to meet with Father Paul. I found him in the sacristy of the church ... and the experience was breathtaking. Here was a tall, lean, deeply bronzed man dressed all in white: white clerical shirt, white slacks and belt, white socks, white shoes. With his gleaming gray hair combed straight back, Father Paul was truly a sight to behold, with more than a glint of intelligence and strength emanating from his piercing blue eyes.

That intelligence and strength was a mainstay of Father Paul's ministry. Ordained to the priesthood in 1953, he pursued graduate studies in education and psychology, eventually obtaining a doctoral degree. He served long and well in the parochial schools of our Diocese, both as teacher and superintendent-the latter at Gehlen Catholic High School in Le Mars and St. Edmond High School in Fort Dodge. Throughout his life Father Paul was a strong advocate of the Catholic school system, as is attested by a 1960 column he wrote for our Diocesan newspaper, The Globe, entitled "Scope of Education":

"Surely this system has made a contribution to American education that is so great and so obvious that to deny it is to attempt the ridiculous. The service of the private school is manifold. It has been traditional in its approach to both education and its functions. But, while being so, it has made steady progress in the best and most modern tools and means for education."

As a parish priest, Father Paul served in a variety of settings: at Ashton, Rock Rapids, Early, Pocahontas and Whittemore. In Pocahontas he was instrumental in bringing about a smooth transition from two parishes-Sacred Heart and SS. Peter and Paul-to one new parish: Resurrection.

Every pastor can look back upon his career and remember the assignments that brought him the most pleasure, and in Father Paul's case it would probably have been his years of service in Pocahontas, first as an assistant pastor in the 1950s and then as pastor in the 1970s. He made many friends in the community, continued to be active in the field of Catholic education, and was a distinct influence upon the vocations of the young men he encountered, such as Father Roger Linnan.

It was not easy for Father Paul to leave Pocahontas in 1978, and within a year of his departure he sought and obtained a leave of absence so that he could pursue opportunities for priestly ministry in the Diocese of Phoenix, where he served in the field of pastoral ministry and counseling until his retirement in 1988.

Father Paul's last years were marked by increasing infirmity, and thus he shared in the sufferings of Christ. He continued to call Pocahontas home, returning there each summer. And it was Pocahontas that he came back to for his final resting place. Now we trust that Father Paul has received the garment that marks the true believer, the one that numbers him among those who "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rv.7:14).

"God of mercy and love, grant to Paul, your servant and priest, a glorious place at your heavenly table, for you made him here on earth a faithful minister of your word and sacrament. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

(Monsignor Mark Duchaine is Vicar General/Vicar Judicial of the Diocese of Sioux City and Pastor of St. Mary Parishes in Mapleton and Oto, and the author of Living Stones: Priests in the Diocese of Sioux City: 1856-2004.)