Fellow priests remember Rev. Monsignor Skehan

MOSES LAKE - If one mark of a well lived life is the respect a person garners from their peers, the Reverend Monsignor Martin Oliver Skehan lived very well indeed.

Msgr. Skehan, a retired priest of the Catholic Diocese of Yakima, died in Moses Lake last Monday at the age of 91 following a brief illness.

The Bishop of the Yakima Diocese, Most Rev. Joseph Tyson, presided over a vigil for Skehan Thursday at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Moses Lake, a service attended by more than 350 people.

While he said he didn't know Skehan well, Tyson had one word to describe his impression of the man - beloved.

Soon before Skehan's death, Tyson traveled to Moses Lake to find a hospital room packed with parishioners from Moses Lake, Warden and Quincy, all praying with and sharing stories about their spiritual leader.

In a letter to fellow priests regarding Skehan's death, Tyson expressed how inspired he was by the affection he saw there.

"When I walked into his hospital room I found him a gift wrapped in love," he wrote. "I was awe-struck by the over-the-top and round-the-clock friendship and prayer that surrounded him in his final hours."

Tyson went on to write how he came to feel he knew Skehan well, not in an interpersonal way, but through other priests, parishioners and their love.

"I was struck by how much he meant to people, and of course he also had a bit of the Irish wit," Tyson said in a later interview.

Skehan was born Nov. 11, 1920 to Patrick and Helena (Moloney) Skehan in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary, Ireland, and attended seminary at All Hallows College in Dublin from 1938 to 1944, when he was ordained.

He took a long journey by boat to the United States, entering the Archdiocese of Seattle where he began a 51 year tenure as a priest.

Fr. Robert Siler, who knew Skehan for about 25 years and is now Chancellor of the Yakima Diocese, said Skehan was quick to help other priests from his homeland.

"I spoke with a couple of priests from Ireland who, when they were young and had just come over, they were homesick and said Skehan was always there to attend to them," he said.

One of these was Father Seamus Kerr, who hails from the north of Ireland and is now a retired priest living in Ephrata.

"We attended the same seminary, although he was a lot of years ahead of me," Kerr said of Skehan; adding he considered the man as a close friend for more than 50 years. "When I came out to the Diocese of Yakima I met him and we've been friends ever since."

Kerr said Skehan would make regular trips home nearly every year to visit his nephews Sean and Martin Reidy, along with their wives and seven children, until about five years ago when the long trip became impossible due to health reasons.

Along with travel Skehan also loved to golf and follow sports, including baseball and football - both American and Irish.

Kerr said he and his friend would often reminisce about Ireland and tell jokes. He'll always remember Skehan's keen sense of humor and deep love of people.

"He always had a good hearty laugh and was very outgoing and loved to mingle with people," he said. "He was dearly beloved by the people of Moses Lake. He was loved wherever he went."

Before retiring in 1995 to Moses Lake, Skehan served in several Catholic parishes across Washington, starting as assistant pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in Bremerton, then as pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Goldendale until 1957.

When the Yakima Diocese was formed in 1951 Skehan began leading Catholics in Central Washington, serving as pastor of St. Joseph's Parish in Kennewick from 1957 to 1972, then pastor of St. Aloysius Parish in Toppenish until 1983, when he became pastor of St. Pius X Parish in Quincy. Skehan was the last living priest to be assigned to the Diocese of Yakima when it was formed.

Bishop Emeritus Carlos Sevilla, the former head of the Catholic Diocese of Yakima and someone who knew Skehan for 14 years, characterized him as a man on a mission.

Sevilla told of how, while in Toppenish, Skehan took it upon himself to learn Spanish to better serve the area's growing Hispanic community - one of the first priests in Washington to do so. Then, while serving in Kennewick, Skehan saw a need for a Catholic school and invited Sisters from California to help found one.

"He was a marvelous, wonderful priest," Sevilla said.

Siler agreed, recounting how Skehan twice served as Vicar General of the Diocese and was named a Prelate of Honor, with the title Monsignor, by Pope John Paul II in 1991.

"The Vicar General is a leader of other priests, which goes to show how respected (Skehan) was," he said.

After retiring, Skehan assisted at Our Lady of Fatima as well as Queen of All Saints Parish in Warden until advancing age required him to move to an assisted living home in Moses Lake.

There he continued to celebrate Mass and minister to his fellow residents, according to Kerr.

"Even when he was very ill he still tried to keep working," he said. "He'd be saying masses and hearing confessions and even when he entered into the retirement home he still kept on servicing the people there."

Kerr said Skehan lived his life selflessly, always looking for ways to help others.

"I would say he was a model priest, to really look up to and follow his example," Kerr said. "He was really a remarkable person in every way and we're sure going to miss him very, very much."

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.