By Anne Marie Amacher
Deacon Steve Witt felt a calling to the priesthood when he was young and then again later in life. He enrolled in the seminary at St. Ambrose College in Davenport after high school, but then decided he was not ready. After the death of his wife in 2001, he began thinking about the priesthood once again.
On Saturday, Dec. 15, at 10 a.m. at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport, Deacon Witt will be ordained to the priesthood. All are welcome to the ordination Mass.
Deacon Witt, 64, was born in Clinton where he attended St. Boniface Elementary and St. Mary High School in Clinton. He graduated from St. Ambrose College in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and history, and a minor in philosophy.
He married Patricia Finkenhoefer on Feb. 9, 1974, at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Davenport. Together they had three children, Courtney (Gus) Vassiliades, Kevin (Laura) Witt and Julie Witt. There are three grandchildren.
In 1976, Deacon Witt graduated from the University of Iowa with a master’s degree in public affairs. He was in the workforce for 45 years at “many places — too many over time to mention,” he said. He retired in December 2009.
When the first permanent deacon class was forming, Deacon Witt said Father Joe Kokjohn encouraged him to apply. “I had little knowledge at the time of what we were getting into,” Deacon Witt said. “I only knew that my wife and I wanted to serve in any way that we could.”
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Congratulations!