December 24, 2024

OBITUARY: Father Francis Hugh Crombie, Jr.

REGIONAL
Staff report

HOLYOKE — Father Francis Hugh Crombie, Jr., Ordination Class of 1968, a priest of the Diocese of Springfield for 56 years, died on Sunday, Dec. 22, at Mary’s Meadow, Holyoke after a brief illness. He was 86 years old.

Born in Springfield to Francis H. Crombie, Sr., and Florence (Houlihan) Crombie, the family resided in Enfield, Conn., and later in Longmeadow, Mass. He graduated from Cathedral High School, Springfield, Class of 1956, and prepared for the priesthood at the University of Ottawa and Saint Paul Seminary, Ottawa, Canada.

Ordained at the Cathedral of Saint Michael the Archangel on May 4, 1968, Father Crombie served as an assistant pastor at Saint Agnes Parish, Dalton; Saint Mary the Morning Star Parish, Pittsfield; Immaculate Conception Parish, Easthampton; Holy Family Parish, Holyoke, with chaplaincy at Providence Hospital for 10 years; and Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish, Palmer. He was pastor of Saint Paul the Apostle Parish, Springfield, for 18 years, along with responsibilities at Saint Joseph Mission, East Longmeadow; and pastor of Saint Patrick Parish, Springfield, for 14 years, from which he retired May 1, 2015.

In his retirement he continued to assist at area parishes and religious communities, and lived at Saint Francis Residence, Enfield, Conn., a senior community sponsored by the Felician Sisters.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, Dec. 30, at 11 a.m. in the chapel at Saint Joseph’s Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1365 Enfield Street, Enfield, Conn. Interment will follow in the Crombie family plot at Saint Patrick Cemetery, 1558 King Street, Enfield, Conn.

Memorial contributions may be made to his last pastorate, Saint Patrick Parish, 1900 Allen Street, Springfield, Mass., 01118.