Deceased: 2009-04-01
Diocese: DETROIT
Seminary Graduation Year: 1950
Fr. Arthur W. Fauser was known by his parishioners and friends as being gentle and mild-mannered, friendly to those he served.
Fr. Fauser died April 1, 2009. He was 83.
Fr. Peter Lentine, a classmate of Fr. Fauser’s, remembered him fondly as a good pastor and good priest even though they drifted apart over the years.
“I had always known (Fr. Fauser) to be a very kind, very gentle, very attentive individual who is very sensitive to the feelings of people, and who was always kind to others,” he said.
Briana Liller, secretary at St. Angela Parish, Roseville, one of two parishes Fr. Fauser lived at after he retired, called him a “people’s priest.” He was both simple and humble, but “In Father’s simplicity, he was noble, every time he was on the altar,” she said.
“He didn’t need accolades,” she said. “He was the real deal.”
Liller knew Fr. Fauser for 12 years, she said, and in his presence, often felt the Lord was with her through his gentle touch and kind smile, she said. “He could relate to any one of us,” she said. “He was walking his journey of faith with us.
“Fr. Art was a giant,” Liller said. “What he had to say really cut to the core. He always had something to leave us with, and that we could carry through the week.”
Fr. Edward Scheuerman, also a classmate of Fr. Fauser, said he was “a very gentle and much-loved pastor.” “He served in many parishes and served many people,” he said.
He remembered that Fr. Fauser was known to his classmates as “Doc” Fauser, and always had one of various large dogs with him through the years. Because his father was a chauffer for the Edsel Ford family, Fr. Fauser grew up at the Ford house inGrossePointeShoresand had many stories to tell.
Fr. Fauser was born on Oct. 20, 1925, to Arthur and Mary (Timlin) Hauser in Detroit and graduated from Sacred Heart Seminary in 1946 and from Mount St. Mary’s of the West in Norwood, Ohio, in 1950. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Detroit on May 20, 1950, by Cardinal Edward Mooney. He celebrated his first Mass at St. Paul on the Lake,Grosse Pointe Farms. His brother John also became a priest, and his sister entered the Dominican order as Sr. Arthur Mary.
His many assignments included serving as associate pastor at: St. James Parish, Ferndale (1950); Christ the Good Shepherd Parish, Lincoln Park (1950-55); Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Detroit (1955-60); St. Hugo of the Hills Parish, Bloomfield Hills (1960-62); St. Mel Parish, Dearborn Heights (1962-66); and Sacred Heart Parish, Roseville (1966-68). He then served as pastor at St. Joseph Parish, Erie (1968-73); St. Martin de Porres Parish, Warren (1973-77); Our Lady Queen of Hope Parish, Detroit (1977-78); St. Albert the Great Parish, Dearborn Heights (1978-84); and Our Lady Queen of All Saints Parish, Fraser (1984-94).
He received the Fr. John Farrell Award in 1976, studying inRomethat fall, and served on the presbyteral council (1978-82); he also served on the College of Consultors (1970-76), and as vicar of the former Monroe Vicariate (1970-73).
He was given senior status in July of 1994 and lived at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish and St. Angela Parish, Roseville before becoming a resident of Senior Clergy Village, Livonia.
Funeral Mass was at St. Martin Monday with private burial following at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Detroit.
Survivors include a sister, Alice (the late Bernard) Huitink; the Bernard Fauser family; and his dear friends, Sr. Helen Williams, IHM; and Fr. Douglas Bignall and family.
Condolences may be sent to Fr. Douglas Bignall, Director of Graduate Pastoral Formation, Sacred Heart Major Seminary,2701 Chicago Blvd.,Detroit, 48206.
