Fr. Gary Scherer, CPPS, 73, died Friday, July 6, 2012, at St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio. He had been in failing health for some time.

He was born January 3, 1939, in Portsmouth, Ohio, to John and Ruth (Seyfried) Scherer. He entered the society in 1958 and was ordained on June 3, 1967.

Fr. Scherer’s first assignment was as an assistant pastor at St. Joseph Church in Wapakoneta, Ohio, from 1967-1970. He then ministered as a chaplain at Holy Name Hospital in Cincinnati from 1970-81 and then spent over 20 years as a chaplain at St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Dayton.

In 2000, he was named parochial vicar of St. John the Baptist Church in Whiting, Ind., where he served until ill health forced his retirement in 2010.

Fr. Scherer was a gentle soul and a gifted artist who was kind to everyone he met. A guitarist and a superb tenor, he loved all kinds of music, everything from opera to country. His long illness left him weakened, but he seldom complained; his illness made him even more compassionate to those who were suffering.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, July 10, at 2 p.m. at St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio, with the Rev. Larry Hemmelgarn, CPPS, presiding. Fr. Thomas Beischel, CPPS, will be homilist. Burial will follow in the Community cemetery.

Text and photo courtesy of Jean Giesige, Cincinnati Province