WILMINGTON, Del. — Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Father Joseph E. Tustin, who previously served in parishes in Asheboro and Kernersville, passed away earlier this year. He died March 8, 2023, in his 64th year of religious life as a professed member of the Wilmington-Philadelphia Province of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.
A Mass of Christian Burial was offered March 13, 2023, at Our Lady of Light Chapel in Childs, Md. Interment followed at the Oblate Cemetery.
He was born in Philadelphia in 1939, the son of Joseph Frank Tustin and Harriet Gutowski Tustin. After graduating from Northeast Catholic High School in Philadelphia in 1957, he entered the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales and professed first vows on Aug. 21, 1959. He made perpetual profession on Sept. 30, 1962, and was ordained a priest on Oct. 21, 1967. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and a Master of Theology from De Sales School of Theology in Washington, D.C.
Over the years, he served on the faculty of Father Judge High School and Northeast Catholic High School in Philadelphia, Pa., on the staff of Villa Maria Retreat House in Wernersville, Pa., and as pastor of St. Richard Parish in Mannheim, Pa.
In North Carolina, he served at St. Joseph Parish in Asheboro, Holy Cross Parish in Kernersville, and St. Mary Parish in Goldsboro.
Upon retirement, Father Tustin ministered at Resurrection of Our Lord Parish in Philadelphia.
He was preceded in death by his parents as well as his sisters, Mary Hypes and Patricia (Billy) Jacobs as well as his brothers, George Tustin and Michael Tustin. He is survived by many nieces and nephews.
In memory of his life and legacy, donations may be made to the Oblate Development Fund, P.O. Box 87, Childs, MD 21916-0087.
— Catholic News Herald