Funeral details have been announced for Fr. Richard Piontkowski, who was pastor for Catholic churches in Buffalo and Sherman counties at the time of his passing.
The Catholic Diocese of Grand Island announced late Thursday night that that Fr. Piontkowski, 70, passed away earlier in the day.
Born in 1956 in Tennessee, his family settled in North Platte shortly after his birth. After graduating from McDaid Elementary and St. Patrick’s High School in North Platte, he attended Conception Seminary College in Missouri. He was ordained in 1982 to the Catholic priesthood by then-Bishop of the Diocese of Grand Island, the Most Reverend Lawrence J. McNamara.
He would later attend University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Illinois for his masters degree in Theology; and would also earn a Licentiate in Canon Law from The Catholic University of America and his doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
During his 44 years of priesthood, Piontkowski served Catholic parishes in Farwell, Elba, St. Libory, North Platte, and Grand Island. At the time of his passing, he was serving as pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Ravenna, St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Pleasanton, St. Josaphat’s Catholic Church in Loup City, St. Francis Catholic Church in Ashton and St. Gabriel Catholic Church in Hazard. He was also a former chaplain and colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve
The Visitation will be held Tuesday from 4-7 p.m. at St. Josaphat’s Catholic Church in Loup City, with the Vigil Service & Knights of Columbus Rosary to follow. The Funeral mass will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Grand Island, and will be livestreamed by the diocese on YouTube and Facebook. Burial will follow later in the day in Ashton.
Memorials may be made to Friends of Paplin or the North Platte Catholic Schools Endowment in lieu of flowers.
Peters Funeral Home in St. Paul is assisting the family with arrangements. The full obituary can be found here.
9:42 AM 8/24: Writer’s note: The story was updated to add the livestream link for Wednesday’s funeral.
