Fr. Eugene John Michel

Fr. Eugene J. Michel O.F.M., 81, priest of the Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart, Saint Louis, Missouri, and former pastor at Sacred Heart Church of St. Paul, Minnesota, passed away on Monday, April 3, 2017.

He was born on November 26, 1935, to Adolph and Teresa Michel, and grew up with five siblings on a farm in the Springbrook area.

He attended Spooner High School before entering St. Joseph Minor Seminary near Chicago. He later studied at Our Lady of the Angels Seminary in Cleveland, Ohio, and St. Joseph Seminary in Teutopolis, Illinois. He was ordained a priest on Jan. 19, 1964, and celebrated his First Solemn Mass at St. Francis de Sales Church in Spooner.

Fr. Michel taught and ministered in Germany; Chicago; San Antonio, Texas; Mexico; St. Paul, Minnesota; and St. Louis, and carried out special assignments in other locations.

He is survived by his siblings Larry (Helen) Michel, George (Irene) Michel of Spooner, Marion (Barney) Honer, Dick (Elaine) Michel, and Kathleen (Jack) Brown of Shell Lake; 11 nieces; and 16 nephews.