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May 6, 2018

Two diocesan priests reflect on the passing of Barbara Bush

REGIONAL
Story and photo by Carolee McGrath

 

Father Dan Boyle, the pastor of St. Cecilia Parish in Wilbraham and Father C.J. Waitekus, the pastor of St. Mary Parish in Longmeadow look through a photo album of pictures they took with former President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush.

 

WILBRAHAM — It was a beautiful summer day in Kennebunkport, Maine back in the late 1990s. Father Daniel Boyle, the current pastor of St. Cecilia Parish in Wilbraham, remembers the afternoon like it was yesterday. Father Boyle was on a retreat with other diocesan priests, including his good friends, Father C.J. Waitekus, the pastor of St. Mary Parish in Longmeadow, and the late Father Vernon Decoteau.

“We were up there for three days. Father Vern had organized a group to go on a bus tour. He couldn’t tell us where we were going because of security. He said, ‘Now as we come around the next corner, we’ll see Walker’s Point. That’s the house of the Bush family,’” recalled Father Boyle of the conversation. He said Father Decoteau then told the bus driver to turn into the driveway of the Bush residence.

Father Boyle and Father Waitekus pose for a picture with former President George H.W. Bush in Maine. (IObserve photo/courtesy of Father Daniel Boyle)

“The driver said, ‘No, Father. I can’t do that.’ Vernon said, ‘Take a right. They’re expecting us,’” Father Boyle recounted.

Father Decoteau, who was an accomplished musician, used to play piano and sing once in a while at the Kennebunkport Inn. It was there that he got to know former President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush. Father Boyle said the former president and first lady invited Father Decoteau to their table for a drink that evening.

“He (President Bush) said to Father Vern, ‘Do you do this for a living?’ And Vern said, ‘No, you won’t believe what I do,’” Father Boyle explained. From that day on, a friendship was formed. Father Decoteau went on to play at several more functions for the Bush family. They in turn made donations toward the building of the new St. Francis of Assisi Church in Belchertown, where Father Decoteau was the pastor. The front, right pew has a presidential seal.

Father Dan Boyle pictured with former First Lady Barbara Bush in Maine. (IObserve photo/courtesy of Father Daniel Boyle)

 “It was the first of many evenings he played for the Bushes,” explained Father Boyle. Through Father Decoteau,  Fathers Boyle and Waitekus met the former president and first lady.

“We were blown away but yet they were so down to earth. We were invited into the house,” said Father Boyle.

“She was a down to earth, a very direct woman. She said what she felt. She said what was on her mind,” added Father C.J. Waitekus.

The news of the April 17 passing of former First Lady Barbara Bush at the age of 92 conjured up fond memories of their close friend, Father Decoteau, who died in June 2016, and the times they were invited into the Bush residence with him.

“I will always remember her kindness and hospitality towards us and what a gift it was from Father Vern to us for including us in his circle of friendship with the Bushes,” said Father Boyle.

Father Waitekus pointed out that in Barbara Bush’s book, Reflections: Life After the White House, she wrote about how “the wonderful Father Vern Decoteau entertained.”

Father Vernon Decoteau (right) and Father Charles Kuzmeski, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Granby, pose with former President George H.W. Bush.

“When I heard she passed, I thought, ‘It’s the end of an era.’ We are now beginning to say goodbye to a woman who served our country and I had the good fortune of meeting her through Father Vern,” said Father Waitekus.

He added that Father Decoteau, who led the diocese’s Singing Priests, never watched the news and didn’t care about politics. Father Waitekus said he loved people, was an ardent defender of life and was a happy priest who left a legacy of love in the diocese.

“It’s brought up Vern all over again. Her passing brings up those feelings of Father Vern and how life is so different without him. He just had an impact on our lives and it’s really a testament to the fraternity of the priesthood,” said Father Waitekus.

 

 

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