Father Kenneth Graehler Dies Feb 19 In Jasper

Editor's note: The photo in the slideshow on our home page is from the Feb. 24 Memorial Mass for Father Graehler at St. Joseph Church in Jasper.

Father Kenneth Lee Graehler, 78, died peacefully in his sleep Feb. 19 at Brookside Villages in Jasper, Ind., after a battle with cancer.

He was born in Jasper on Sept. 20, 1937, to Albert H. Graehler and Lorena (Schuetter) Graehler, who predeceased him. His brothers Al, Richard Lee, and stillborn twins, also preceded him in death.

He attended St. Joseph Elementary School in Jasper and St. Meinrad Seminary High School in St. Meinrad, Ind. He graduated from St. Meinrad Seminary College and then completed four years of theological studies at the University of Innsbruck in Innsbruck, Austria. He was ordained a priest for the Catholic Diocese of Evansville in Holy Trinity Church, in Innsbruck, on March 30, 1963.

His priestly assignments included assistant, Christ the King Parish, Evansville, 1963; assistant, St. Clement Parish, Boonville, and teacher at Reitz Memorial High School, 1965; assistant, St. John the Baptist Parish, Newburgh, continuing as a teacher at Memorial, 1966; assistant, St. James Parish, Haubstadt, and teacher at Rex Mundi High School, Evansville, 1968; associate, St. Theresa Parish, Evansville, and continue as a teacher at Rex Mundi, 1972; associate, St. Simon Parish, Washington, and teacher at Washington Catholic High School, 1973; pastor, St. Peter Parish, Linton, and administrator, St. Joan of Arc Mission, Jasonville, 1973; co-pastor, St. Ferdinand Parish, Ferdinand, 1977; pastor, St. Bernard Parish, Rockport, 1980; pastor, St. Philip Neri Parish, Bicknell, 1985; pastor, St. Wendel Parish, St. Wendel, 1990; pastor, St. Mary Parish, Sullivan, and St. Joan of Arc, Jasonville, 1991. Father Graehler retired from active ministry in November 2002.

Survivors include his only sister, Carol (Graehler) Hufnagel (Walter), of Paris, Texas; sister-in-law Edna Graehler, of Louisville, Ky.; 12 nieces and nephews; 44 great-nieces and nephews; and 10 great-great nieces and nephews.

Father Graehler has donated his body to science at the Indiana University Medical Center. His cremated remains will be buried at Fairview Cemetery in Jasper at a later date.

A Memorial Mass was celebrated at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Jasper on Feb. 24. 

Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of your choice or the Jasper Deanery Catholic Education Foundation. Please send donations to St. Joseph Church, 1029 Kundek St., Jasper, IN 47546-1917.