Brother Martin Pacholek, S.T. (September 29, 1925 - September 23, 2017)
Brother Martin died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, September 23, 2017 at Father Judge Missionary Cenacle in Hyattsville, Maryland. Brother Martin was born in Poland on September 29, 1925 and came to the United States as a young boy. He supported himself here for a number of years, working in various jobs in the New York City area. At the age of 23, he entered the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity as a missionary brother. The Missionary Servants are the congregation of Brothers and priests responsible for the Shrine of St. Joseph in Stirling, New Jersey.
Brother Martin lived and served as a religious brother for 69 years, 52 of those years at the Shrine. He played a key role in helping to both create and maintain the magnificent beauty of the various elements of the Shrine campus. He also was a gifted carpenter, plumber, painter, craftsman and mechanic. If something needed maintenance or repair, Brother Martin knew how to fix it or replace it. His service was humble and quiet but full of that incredible energy and goodness that so marked his life.
Brother also was an avid outdoorsman who loved fishing in the warmer weather and skiing in the colder months. He continued this active lifestyle far into his 80s. Besides serving so directly the thousands of people who come every year to enjoy the peace and beauty of the Shrine, he also was well known in the community to the many people and businesses who so generously assisted him in his ministry. He also gave selflessly of himself to so many individuals of the surrounding communities who were in need of special assistance. He was a friend and Brother to all.
Brother Martin is survived by members of his immediate family from the areas of New York and Detroit. His gifted goodness and love will be deeply missed by his brothers of the Missionary Servants as well as his beloved Sister Servants of Jesus of the Shrine of St. Joseph and the hundreds of people who came to know and respect him as a servant of God and a friend. May he rest in God’s peace now eternally.
There will be visitation at the chapel of the Shrine of St. Joseph, 1050 Long Hill Rd., Stirling, NJ, on Thursday, 28 September, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. with a formal wake service at 7 p.m. A funeral Mass will be held on Friday, 29 September at 10:00 AM at the Shrine chapel. Interment will be in the Missionary Servants’ cemetery in Holy Trinity, Alabama at a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Shrine of St. Joseph (stshrine.org) in memory of Brother Martin. Arrangements are under the direction of the Valley Memorial Funeral Home, 1012 Valley Rd., Gillette, NJ 07933. For more information and online condolences, visit valleymemorialfuneralhome.net.