Rev. James Gilbert Heller
Deceased: 2020-05-07
Diocese: SAGINAW
Seminary Graduation Year: 1969
ICTE Spring: 2003
Father James Gilbert Heller, of Bay City and Grand Rapids, passed away at St. Ann’s Home on May 7, 2020 due to complications related to the COVID-19 virus. He was born in Bay City, Michigan on February 16, 1942 to Gilbert and Adelaide Heller. He is survived by two sisters: Elaine Glowicki (Donald) of Elk Rapids, MI and Ruth Ann Bolduc (Gilbert) of Kentwood, MI; and one brother: Thomas Heller (Betsy) of Columbus, IN. He is also survived by three generations of nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by his parents Gilbert and Adelaide Heller, his sister and brother-in-law Doris and William Monroe, his niece Jane Hetner, and his infant brother Ronald Heller.
A lifetime enthusiastic Detroit Tigers fan and season ticket holder, Father Jim was a voracious reader, and also a lover of all types of music, particularly the music played by Leonard at St. Ann’s. He was so moved by the ‘Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World’, that he purchased over a dozen copies to distribute to his friends. Additionally, Father Jim was a true Renaissance gentleman with exceptional taste, sharp intellect, and above all else, a caring soul. Along with a fine appreciation of art, he enjoyed lingering over a glass of wine, good food, and conversation on any topic. He was always interesting, as well as genuinely interested in what others were doing and thinking.
Father Jim was fluent in three languages, which served him well during his many travels to Europe with his siblings and their spouses. While he was fond of travel, he was also a proud resident of Bay City, exalting its virtues and enjoying all that the city had to offer.
Father Jim spent the last 19 months of his life at St. Ann’s Home in Grand Rapids, where he made many friends among the residents and staff, and where he could frequently be seen walking the hallways greeting whomever he met with a smile and conversation. He repeatedly expressed his affection for St. Ann’s and how happy he was to be there. His family is exceedingly grateful and wishes to thank the entire staff at St. Ann’s for their loving and compassionate care, and unending support of Father Jim during his residency there, particularly in his final days.
Father Jim attended Bay City St. Mary’s Elementary and High School. After his graduation in 1960, he entered the new St. Paul Seminary in Saginaw. After one year, he was transferred to Holy Cross Seminary in LaCrosse, WI. He studied theology at the North American College in Rome and was ordained by Bishop Francis Reh on December 20, 1968. He was appointed as an Associate Pastor at Holy Rosary Parish in Saginaw in 1969, and then as Associate Pastor at SS Peter and Paul Parish in Saginaw from 1970 to 1974. Bishop Reh then appointed him to St. Mary’s Cathedral in Saginaw where he served on a Pastoral Team from 1974 to 1982 with Fr. Donald Christensen and Sr. Mary Ellen McDonald, OP.
Bishop Kenneth Untener appointed him as Director of the Church Ministries Office where he served from 1982 to 1989.
Father Jim returned to pastoral service in 1989, serving at St. Philip Neri in Coleman and St. Anne parishes. In 1996, he was assigned to his home parish of St.. Mary’s in Bay City, where he also served as Vicar of Vicariate VIII. His final pastorate was at St. Stephen’s parish in Saginaw from 2005 to 2014, when he retired after 45 years of service to the people and parishes of the Diocese.
He believed that since a priest is ordained to the service of the Diocese, he was called to be of service beyond a particular parish or diocesan office. As a result, he served in a variety of roles and on various committees and organizations, such as: the Michigan Catholic Conference, The Senate of Priests, the Diocesan Pastoral Council, the Diocesan Finance Council, Clergy Personnel Board, Regional Vicar, Vicar General, St. Mary’s of Michigan Advisory Board and Ethics Committee, and as a board member for the Little Books of the Diocese of Saginaw and the Catholic Community Foundation of Mid-Michigan. Mostly, he loved serving the people of God, preaching and celebrating the sacraments with them.
As the importance of compassion and improving the lives of others less fortunate was to him, Father Jim was inordinately proud of the Gilbert and Adelaide Heller Endowment Fund, a philanthropic charity created by his late parents to provide assistance to many institutions, and Father Jim spoke of its valuable charity work often. The Catholic institutions directly benefitting from the Heller Endowment Fund largesse include: St. Mary’s, Bay City; St. Stephen Church, Saginaw; Sacred Heart Church, Elk Rapids; Bay Area Catholic Schools and the Saginaw Area Catholic Schools. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any contributions in his memory be made to the or sent to the Catholic Community Foundation of Mid-Michigan (CCFMM) by accessing their website: https://ccfmm.org/donate/ and specifying ‘The Gilbert and Adelaide Heller Endowment Fund’ in the ‘Message/Details’ section of the webpage, or by sending it to the Catholic Community Foundation of Mid-Michigan, 5800 Weiss Street, Saginaw, MI 48603-2779.
Due to the Covid 19 restrictions and guidelines. A private Funeral Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption in Saginaw on Wednesday, May 13, at 11 a.m. Bishop Robert Gruss will preside and Father Bill Taylor will be the homilist. The Mass will be available via livestream on the diocesan website, www.saginaw.org and on the Diocese of Saginaw Facebook page. A private burial will take place at St. Patrick Cemetery’s Priests’ Section, Bay City, MI.
