Retired High Point deacon
HIGH POINT — Deacon Thomas Jerome Kak passed June 25, 2021, at Hospice of the Piedmont following a brief illness. He was 86.
A funeral Mass and interment at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point will be held privately.
A Chicago native, Deacon Kak made High Point his home 50 years ago.
He was born July 22, 1934, and graduated from the University of Tampa with an undergraduate degree and the University of Notre Dame with a master’s degree in English.
He lived his life in service to others. He was employed as a teacher for several local schools including Westchester Academy and Guilford Technical Community College. In addition, he retired from the N.C. Employment Security Commission, where he worked as a career counselor. He and his wife spent many hours in the community volunteering time and talent with High Point Regional Hospital, the Community Clinic of High Point, Open Door Ministries, the High Point Museum and the High Point Theatre. He also performed in many plays for the High Point Theater.
Deacon Kak was ordained for the Diocese of Charlotte on June 11, 1989, by Bishop John F. Donoghue. He served as a deacon for 32 years, including 19 years as a deacon at his home parish, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. He also was a member of the Knights of Columbus. In retirement from active ministry in 2008, he always expressed his love for the Church and served it with utmost humility.
Many in High Point knew Deacon Kak as a frequent contributor to the letters to the editor section of the High Point Enterprise. He was an avid reader and was often seen around town with his favorite companion, his dog.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Emily Ann Kak. Prior to her death, Deacon Kak and his wife were active members of the IHM parish community. They were involved in parish life, the liturgies of the church and in parish outreach into the community.
He is survived by his daughters, Emily “Phil” Gomez and her husband Rocky of High Point, Debra Lynn Welborn and her husband Robert of High Point, and Kali Griggs of Greensboro; grandchildren, Racheal Newman, Mackenzie Welborn, and Taylor and Tyler Griggs; and a great-grandson, David Byerly.
The family requests memorial contributions to be sent to Hospice of the Piedmont, 1801 Westchester Dr., High Point, N.C. 27262.
Condolences may be expressed online at www.wrightfs.com.
Wright Funerals-Cremations was in charge of the arrangements.
— Catholic News Herald
SHELBY — “Viva Cristo Rey!” parishioners of St. Mary, Help of Christians Church proclaimed as they said goodbye Wednesday to their pastor, Father Michael Kottar.
Father Kottar, 53, passed away May 22 after a battle with a rare brain infection called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. He had served as a Catholic priest for nearly 28 years, half of which he spent at the Shelby parish.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated June 2 by Bishop Peter Jugis at the church, which was filled to capacity with Father Kottar’s parishioners, family and friends, and fellow priests.
As the funeral Mass ended and Father Kottar’s casket was processed out of the church, parishioners wiped tears from their eyes as they shouted, “¡Viva Cristo Rey! ¡Viva Cristo Rey! ¡Viva Cristo Rey! ¡Viva la Santísima Virgen María de Guadalupe! Que la Virgen de Guadalupe lo cubra con su Sagrado manto para que entre en el Cielo." ("Long live Christ the King! Long live Christ the King! Long live Christ the King! Long live the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe! May the Virgin of Guadalupe cover him with her sacred mantle so that he may enter in to Heaven.")
A close friend of Father Kottar’s delivered the homily. Father James M. Cox, pastor of Annunciation B.V.M. Church in Havertown, Pa., connected Father Kottar’s physical suffering in his final days with the sufferings of the saints he had a devotion to – among them, St. Therèse of Lisieux and St. Rita of Cascia. Like the saints, Father Cox said, “He was in fact looking forward to seeing God, knowing that nothing in this passing life could ever keep him from what mattered most: being with God.”
“As a faithful priest,” Father Cox said, “he presented himself to Christ on his own cross as a gift of love to Christ, seeking only to share in His resurrection on the last day. That is the hope of every Christian: everlasting life with God.”
In celebrating a funeral Mass for the repose of Father Kottar’s soul, Father Cox said, “we do so knowing that he goes before the throne of God as a priest, marked from the moment of his anointing. He carries with him all the prayers ever entrusted to him, every sin ever confessed, every cross he humbled to carry, and every Holy Communion with God he made possible through His grace each day.”
After the Mass, a private burial followed at Belmont Abbey Cemetery.
Michael T. Kottar was born Dec. 6, 1967, in Youngstown, Ohio, the son of Michael and the late Kathleen (Kropelak) Kottar. He attended Immaculate Heart of Mary School and Ursuline High School. He was drawn to a priestly vocation from an early age as an altar server, and after high school he went on to further his studies at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. Alphonsus Redemptorist Seminary in Suffield, Conn., and in 1994 he earned a Master of Divinity from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md.
He was ordained to the priesthood on May 28, 1994, for the Diocese of Metuchen, N.J., by Bishop Edward T. Hughes. He served in the Metuchen diocese for five years and in 1999, he moved to the Diocese of Charlotte. He served first at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, considered one of the largest Catholic parishes in the United States. He then served as administrator at St. John Baptist de la Salle Church in North Wilkesboro, before moving in 2002 to the diocese’s smallest parish, Holy Redeemer in Andrews, where he served first as administrator and then as pastor.
In 2007, Father Kottar was appointed pastor of St. Mary, Help of Christians Church in Shelby and Christ the King Mission in Kings Mountain. He loved the mix of people and cultures there. He also had a passion for the outdoors, hiking, Caribbean cruises and reading history.
Throughout his priestly ministry, he was known as a defender of life, a champion of the poor, and a teacher who loved to lead Scripture studies and pilgrimages to sacred shrines. He was a gifted writer and eloquent speaker, which showed in the inspirational homilies he delivered.
He often preached that our purpose in this life is to give glory to God. Although his life was brief, he lived it fully – loving and serving God and, in his words, “meeting so many good people along the way.” He devoted his life to the Church and once was quoted as saying that people loved priests because they bring them closer to Christ. He had a deep love for Christ in the Eucharist, and he encouraged people – especially young men discerning a vocation to the priesthood – to pray the rosary and develop a relationship with the Blessed Mother.
In addition to his parish of 300 families at St. Mary and Christ the King, he is survived by his father Michael H. Kottar of Pickerington, Ohio; twin sisters Amy (Michael) Akers, also of Pickerington, and Renee (Gregory) Selby of Nazareth, Pa.; and four nieces and nephews: Paige, Benjamin, Kyra and Vincent. He was preceded in death by his mother.
In lieu of flowers, Father Kottar requested that memorial contributions be made to the Diocese of Charlotte Seminarian Education Fund. Donate by mail to 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203, or securely online at www.charlottediocese.org/development/donate_semed.
Cecil M. Burton Funeral Home of Shelby was in charge of the arrangements.
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, Editor. Photos by Giuliana Polinari Riley, correspondent.
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