Reverend Monsignor Martin Oliver Skehan

The Reverend Monsignor Martin Oliver Skehan of Moses Lake, a retired priest of the Catholic Diocese of Yakima, died Monday, January 2, at Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake following a brief illness.

Msgr. Skehan was born November 11, 1920 to Patrick and Helena (Moloney) Skehan in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary, Ireland. He attended seminary at All Hallows College, Dublin, from 1938 to 1944 and was ordained a priest there on June 24, 1944, for service in the Archdiocese of Seattle. From 1945 to 1949 he served as assistant pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in Bremerton, then was named pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Goldendale, where he served until 1957. He became a priest of the Yakima Diocese when it was formed in 1951 to better serve Catholics in Central Washington.

Msgr. Skehan was pastor of St. Joseph's Parish in Kennewick from 1957 to September of 1972, then pastor of St. Aloysius Parish in Toppenish until August of 1983, when he became pastor of St. Pius X Parish in Quincy. He served as Vicar General of the Diocese in 1975-1976 and 1977-1984. Msgr. Skehan was named a Prelate of Honor, with the title Monsignor, by Pope John Paul II in October 1991. He retired in 1995 and moved to Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Moses Lake.

Msgr. Skehan assisted in that parish, along with Queen of All Saints Parish in Warden, until advancing age required him to move to the Emeritus at Hearthstone assisted living facility in Moses Lake. There he continued to celebrate Mass and to minister to his fellow residents. When he could no longer drive on his own, he held a raffle for his car to raise money for the diocese's Priest Retirement and Health Fund.

During Msgr. Skehan's final illness, a steady stream of parishioners from Moses Lake, Warden and Quincy came to pray with him at his bedside, a testament to the mutual relationships of love and concern he had developed with the people in the parishes in which he served.

Survivors include two nephews and their spouses, Sean (Norene) Reidy and Martin (Ann) Reidy of Ireland, and their seven children.

The Vigil for Msgr. Skehan will be Thursday, January 5, at 7 p.m. at Our Lady of Fatima Church, 200 N. Dale Rd., in Moses Lake, with the Most Rev. Joseph J. Tyson, Bishop of Yakima, presiding. Viewing will be from 1 to 7 p.m. at the church on Jan. 5th. Mass of Christian Burial will be Friday, January 6, at 10:30 a.m., at Our Lady of Fatima, also with Bishop Tyson presiding. The Rite of Committal will take place that afternoon in the Priests Plot at Calvary Cemetery, 1405 S. 24th Ave., Yakima., with the Rev. Msgr. John A. Ecker, Vicar General of the diocese, presiding. Sign the online guestbook at www.kayserschapel.com Arrangements in care of Kayser's Chapel & Crematory. Donations in Msgr. Skehan's memory may be made to the Diocese of Yakima Priest Retirement and Health Fund, 5301-A Tieton Drive, Yakima, WA 98908.