Reverend Monsignor Mark Deering
November 6, 1921 – June 3, 2016

Reverend Monsignor Mark Deering passed away peacefully on Friday, June 3, 2016 at Providence Hospice Place in Waco. He was 94 years old.

A Vigil and Rosary Service will start at 7 p.m., Monday, June 6, 2016 at St. Louis Catholic Church, 2001 N. 25th Street, Waco, with visitation to follow until 10 p.m.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be con-celebrated at 10 a.m., Tuesday, June 7, at St. Louis Catholic Church with Bishop Joe S. Vasquez and Auxiliary Bishop Daniel E. Garcia of the Diocese of Austin officiating. Bishop Emeritus John E. McCarthy will deliver the eulogy. Interment will follow at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Waco.

Msgr. Deering will lie in state from 12 noon to 5 p.m., Sunday, June 5, and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday, June 6, at OakCrest Funeral Home, 4520 Bosque Boulevard, Waco (254-772-5272).

Monsignor Deering was born Nov. 6, 1921 in Ballybit, Rathvilly, County Carlow, Ireland, to Patrick and Mary Ellen (Dowling) Deering. He was the eighth of ten children, all preceding him in death. He and his brothers and sisters were reared on the family’s dairy farm and attended elementary school in the village of Rathvilly.

After working at his Uncle John Dowling’s general store in Rathvilly and a family friend’s store in County Wicklow, he enrolled at Mount St. Alphonus College in Limerick, Ireland. Upon graduation, he entered the Redemptorist College St. Mary’s, Galway, Ireland to study for the priesthood. He was ordained to the priesthood at St. Kieran’s College in Kilkenny, Ireland on June 6, 1953.

As a newly-ordained priest, then Father Deering was appointed to the Diocese of Austin, Texas under Bishop Louis J. Reicher and his first (and only!) assignment was Waco, Texas. He arrived in Central Texas in July 22, 1953, just after Waco’s dreadful May 11, 1953 tornado. He served at St. Mary’s of the Assumption Catholic Church in Waco from 1953 until he was appointed director and chaplain of the Regis Retirement Residence on September 1, 1963. During Monsignor’s time at St. Mary’s, he worked extensively with Reicher Catholic High School which opened in 1954. In 2001, a major addition was added to Reicher with the Monsignor Mark Deering Activities Center being dedicated in his honor.

Monsignor Deering supervised the building of St. Louis Catholic Elementary School which was completed in 1963, and was then appointed the first pastor of the newly-established St. Louis Parish on September 1, 1964. All masses for the new parish were held in the school cafetorium while the church was being built.

Monsignor worked diligently for the next four years to plan and execute the building of the extraordinarily beautiful St. Louis Catholic Church which opened with the first Sunday mass on June 9, 1968. The hallmark of St. Louis Church is the 69 stained-glass windows which Monsignor commissioned to be designed by the world-renowned Harry Clark Stained Glass Studios in Dublin, Ireland.

Father Deering was awarded the title of “Monsignor” on Dec. 28, 1976 by Pope Paul IV. Msgr. Deering’s foresight led to the formation of St. Jerome’s Parish in Waco, St. Eugene’s Parish in McGregor, and St. Peter’s Student Center at Baylor. He was a walking history book of Waco, easily recalling people’s names and listing baptisms, marriages and funerals he conducted for the generations of families. Msgr. Deering believed in the value of education, and his Deering Foundation still furnishes scholarships to many students.

After 47 years as pastor of St. Louis, he retired in October of 2000, but continued to make his home in Waco. In honor of Monsignor’s 50th Jubilee in the priesthood in 2003, many Wacoans traveled to Kilkenny, Ireland to celebrate mass with him and his Irish family at St. Patrick’s Cathedral where he had offered his first mass after his ordination.

Monsignor Deering was a member of the Waco Rotary Club, serving as president in 1973-74. He attended Rotary meetings all over the world and received his 50 years perfect attendance gold pin in May, 2015.

Monsignor Deering’s greatest gift to Waco was his endless effort to break down religious and racial prejudices. In addition to serving as president of the Waco Ministerial Alliance, he was a founding member of the Waco Conference of Christians and Jews with his dear friend, Rabbi Mordecai Podet. His death leaves a great void in the faith communities of all religions in the Heart of Texas.

Monsignor was an avid football fan, both for Baylor and the Dallas Cowboys. He was named an honorary Baylor alumnus by then President Emeritus Herbert Reynolds.

Monsignor Deering was preceded in death by his parents, Patrick and Mary Deering; seven brothers, John, Patrick, James, Thomas, Joseph, Lazarian and Michael; and two sisters, Mai Milroy and Elizabeth Moore. He is survived by numerous nieces and nephews in Ireland, England and the United States. He leaves behind not only innumerable friends in Waco but also around the world.

Memorials may be made to the Monsignor Mark Deering Foundation, % Office of John F. Sheehy, Jr., 510 N. Valley Mills Drive, Waco, Texas 76710.

The family and friends offer heartfelt thanks to Dr. Gary Barbin, Dr. Meera Amar, Dr. Charlie Schlecte III, Dr. Stephen Howlett, the staff of St. Catherine’s Center, the wonderful angels of Providence Hospice Place, and especially longtime caregiver Charlotte Saladino, for all of their dedicated care of our beloved Monsignor Deering. Monsignor, put in a little plug for us.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Reverend Monsignor Mark Deering, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.