Msgr. Donald Lammers, P.A., 92, dies peacefully

We’ll never have a finer priest. He could turn any death situation into resurrection and life.”

Father Michael Coleman

Monsignor Donald W. Lammers P.A. would pace about the Memory Care Unit at a local rest home, bereft of sight and hearing.

On his lips were words he had prayed many thousands of times.

“Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation! For through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you. ...”

He was, after all, a priest, and a priest to the very end.

Msgr. Lammers, 92, a retired pastor of the Jefferson City diocese, died peacefully on Oct. 24 in Jefferson City.

The rural Cooper County native had been a priest for 59 years.

Prior to retiring from active ministry in 2017, he ministered in Boonville, Monroe City, Rolla, Salisbury, Meta, Rich Fountain, Jefferson City, Russellville, Eldon and Lake Ozark.

He was at the time of his passing the oldest living priest of the diocese.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Nov. 4 in the Cathedral of St. Joseph, with Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell presiding and priests of the Jefferson City diocese concelebrating.

Father Donald Antweiler, a longtime friend of Msgr. Lammers, preached the homily.

“I believe Monsignor knew and believed in the love God had and has for him,” said Fr. Antweiler. “I believe he was such a powerful instrument for helping others come to know it, as well.”

People who knew Msgr. Lammers and were beneficiaries of his ministry remember him as deeply prayerful, affirming and overwhelmingly humble.

“What do you say about a man who’s the holiest person I’ve ever met,” asked Linda Phillips, a member of St. Peter Parish in Jefferson City.

“He was just that kind of a man. Very giving, very humble,” said Jan Howard, who worked with Msgr. Lammers while he was pastor of St. Cecilia Parish in Meta.

“He was a very loving priest, always doing God’s work,” Terry Roets stated online.

“A wonderful priest. Such a kind person. He was always there for my family,” stated Carolyn Livingston Maxey.

“Msgr. Lammers was a kind, wise, gentle and holy man,” stated Stacy Gier.

“Holy is the perfect word for him!” stated Karen Balcer.

Bountiful harvest

Msgr. Lammers was born on July 28, 1933, in rural Cooper County, a son of the late Augustine and Nellie (Schuster) Lammers.

He helped on the family farm, tending to lambs, hogs, milk cows, cattle and chickens.

He attended St. Martin School in Martinsville and graduated from Pilot Grove High School in Pilot Grove.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1953-55. He was an ambulance driver and for several months a drill sergeant.

Following his honorable discharge, he received priestly formation at St. John Seminary in Kansas City, Cardinal Glennon College in St. Louis, and Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis.

On March 26, 1966, in St. Martin Church in Martinsville, Bishop Joseph M. Marling C.PP.S., founding bishop of Jefferson City, ordained him to the Holy Priesthood.

Msgr. Lammers served as an associate pastor in Boonville, then in Monroe City and then at Immaculate Conception Parish in Jefferson City, and then as chaplain of the Catholic Newman Center in Rolla.

He then ministered as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Salisbury and chaplain of the Moberly Correctional Center; pastor of St. Cecelia Parish in Meta and diocesan director of religious education; pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Rich Fountain; pastor of St. Peter Parish in Jefferson City; and pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Eldon.

He also served on several diocesan commissions and was active in spiritual renewal movements including Marriage Encounter, Engaged Encounter, Cursillo, and Teens Encounter Christ.

He completed a master’s degree in Religious Education from Saint Louis University in 1975.

In 2006, at the request of Bishop John R. Gaydos, Pope Benedict XVI elevated Msgr. Lammers to the dignity of Protonotary Apostolic Supranumerary, the oldest and most prestigious of the honorary dignities in the Catholic Church accompanied by the title, “Reverend Monsignor.”

From 2001-10, he served as chaplain for the Missouri House of Representatives.

He retired from active ministry on July 1, 2017, and continued to provide sacramental ministry in the diocese until his health prevented him from doing so.

He lost most of his eyesight and hearing in his last years of life.

“It must have been so frustrating,” said Fr. Antweiler. “And yet, no bitterness, no self-pity, just peacefulness and prayerfulness.”

“Servant’s heart”

Fr. Antweiler believes he’s a better man and a better priest because of his longtime friend and mentor.

He said Msgr. Lammers was one of the most humble people he’s ever known.

“His gentleness and humility were such deeply engrained characteristics,” said Fr. Antweiler.

Msgr. Lammers led St. Peter Parish during an exciting time of growth and renewal, including a major renovation of the church and expansion of the rectory and school.

He always insisted that he didn’t want his name on anything, but he returned from vacation to find that the parishioners and Bishop Gaydos had dedicated and named the new school gymnasium in his honor.

“It was a done deal,” said Fr. Antweiler. “He accepted it reluctantly but graciously.”

Msgr. Lammers carried on a lifelong battle with clinical depression with courage and empathy.

“I think that kind of struggle was part of the reason he was such a good listener,” said Fr. Antweiler. “That was part of his great empathy and compassion. He had a great ear and a servant’s heart. It connected him to the struggles of anybody and everybody who came to him.

“He approached people honestly,” the priest continued, “just as he found them, with great patience, charity, tact and compassion.”

The Priesthood brought Msgr. Lammers terrific joy. Once on vacation while heading through the California Redwoods and up through the mountains into Canada, he looked out intently and said, “You know, it just keeps getting better!”

“It was just a graced moment,” Fr. Antweiler recalled. “I wanted to be like that, a priest like that, a person like that. Aging not just gracefully but full of excitement, full of hope.”

Even after Msgr. Lammers could no longer offer Mass or hear Confessions, he would bless people, using the full blessing God gave Moses for the Chosen People: “The Lord bless you and keep you... .”

“He did that eagerly with anybody who asked,” said Fr. Antweiler. “It was something he could still do as a priest.”

“When I grow up”

Msgr. Lammers was inspiration to fellow priests.

When first ordained, Father Joseph Corel served as an associate pastor of St. Peter Parish in Jefferson City when Msgr. Lammers was pastor.

“One word to describe Msgr. Lammers? Holy!” said Fr. Corel, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish of Pettis County. “I want to be like him in my Priesthood.”

Fr. Corel believes Msgr. Lammers’s palpable sanctity and love for people made people want to cooperate with him and give him the benefit of the doubt.

As part of applying to be a seminarian for this diocese, Fr. Corel had to meet with a member of the diocesan vocation committee.

“For me, that happened to be Msgr. Lammers,” he recalled. “He was in Rich Fountain at that time, and he let me spend the night in his rectory, and we went to a softball game that night.”

Fr. Corel remembers thinking: “How awesome is this? A country priest out in the middle of the country, and he’s going to a softball game and inviting a stranger he’s never met before!”

“And ever since, I’ve only gained more respect for him,” he said.

Father Bill Peckman, who served as an associate pastor under Msgr. Lammers from 1997-2000, saw him as “the absolute model of what it means to be a pastor.”

“His impartiality, his devotion, the fact that he did suffer quietly with his depression,” explained Fr. Peckman, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Macon, St. Mary Parish in Shelbina and the Mission of Sacred Heart in Bevier.

Msgr. Lammers knew when to be gentle and when to administer “tough love.”

“He was humble, kind and fair,” said Fr. Peckman. “He taught me the necessity for impartiality and authentically living what one preached. I still say he is what I hope to be when I grow up.”

Fr. Peckman would call him frequently for counsel after becoming a pastor himself. “Be patient,” the mentor would advise. “Show kindness. Never let them see you lose your temper.”

“A priest’s priest”

Father Mike Coleman believes nobody is more loved and respected than Msgr. Lammers.

“He was a man’s man and a priest’s priest,” said Fr. Coleman, pastor of Holy Spirit parish in Centralia and a chaplain at Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School in Columbia.

Fr. Coleman became a member of the same priest support group as Msgr. Lammers while attending a Priests’ Catholic Charismatic Conference in Steubenville, Ohio.

“The six of us would go every year, starting in the 1990s,” said Fr. Coleman. “That’s what knit us together, that common experience.”

He believes Msgr. Lammers’s openness to vulnerability helped bring healing to many people.

“Three things about him: his kindness, his compassion and his integrity,” said Fr. Coleman.

The monsignor never took himself too seriously.

“You could tease the daylights out of him and he could just laugh with you,” said Fr. Coleman.

Msgr. Lammers turned every obstacle in his life toward God’s glory.

“We’ll never have a finer priest,” said Fr. Coleman. “He could turn any death situation into resurrection and life.”

Fr. Coleman remembers driving from Jefferson City to Rolla with Msgr. Lammers to watch Helias Catholic’s basketball team compete in a state playoff game.

Msgr. Lammers was bursting with enthusiasm upon arriving: “Isn’t this a great life? We get to come here and see a great team play basketball. Being a priest gets to be more fun every day!”

Monsignor Robert A. Kurwicki, vicar general of the diocese and pastor of St. Peter Parish in Jefferson City, admired Msgr. Lammers’s self-awareness.

“He always put others before himself,” said Msgr. Kurwicki. “He valued the strength of others. He accepted his imperfections with humor. He was quick to forgive, and he was authentically sincere.”

Msgr. Lammers was in tune with his own strengths and failings, which allowed him to accept criticism gracefully.

“He would admit errors willingly,” said Msgr. Kurwicki. “I think it was because he knew suffering. It made him who he was — because he knew suffering by experience, not by theory.”

Msgr. Kurwicki believes priests and laypeople alike can learn from Msgr. Lammers’s example: “calmness even in the storms of life, trusting and letting go.”

He’s convinced the best way to honor Msgr. Lammers’s memory is to be like him.

“He was a good and gentle spirit,” he said. “Every priest and layperson who came into contact with him should strive to imitate him by the way they treat themselves and others.”

“Seek ye first”

Mrs. Howard recalls Msgr. Lammers as “a plain ol’ country boy” who thought nothing of heading out on a sick call after coming in from picking blackberries.

“He was just that kind of a man,” she said. “Very giving, very humble. He could mingle with everybody and put them at peace.”

He appreciated family and was quick to tell his employees: “Take the time to be with family and make memories, because you don’t get that back.”

Mrs. Phillips and her daughter, Ivory, were friends with Msgr. Lammers since being initiated into the Church in 2006.

Ivory said she could never forget how good he was to people.

“I miss the guy,” she said. “He was really caring and religious and patient.”

“Holy!” said Linda. “I think that’s the best word for him. He was the holiest man I’ve ever known.”

Deacon Chet Zuck, who assisted Msgr. Lammers when he was pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Eldon, called it “a deacon’s heaven on earth.”

“He never had a detrimental thing to say about anybody,” said Deacon Zuck. “The only thing he’d say if he got a little aggravated was, ‘God bless ’em.’”

Jim Kemna, a member of Immaculate Conception Parish in Jefferson City, was serving as diocesan youth ministry director in the 1980s, during Msgr. Lammers’s time as director of religious education.

“He had really strong convictions,” said Mr. Kemna. “He loved the Church and he helped us to understand how important it was for us all to be faithful Catholics.”

When Msgr. Lammers got reassigned, he recommended Mr. Kemna to succeed him in religious education.

“I really appreciated that,” said Mr. Kemna, who continued in that role until 2016. “There was a point when I felt it was more than I could handle, but his belief in me made me go through with it.”

For years, Msgr. Lammers served as Mr. Kemna’s spiritual director and confessor.

“He was the presence of God to me and I really appreciated him so much,” said Mr. Kemna. “He was wonderful to be able to know and work with for so many years.”

“God bless ’em”

Msgr. Lammers’s niece Jeanna Glaubitz said that even when the world seemed to be closing in on him, her uncle “was so empathetic, he wanted to listen, wanted to be in the world with you and would talk and share.”

“He still had joy and was very patient with the things that were happening to him and accepted them,” she said.

Nephew Alan Lammers said his uncle exemplified St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata’s advice to “do small things with great love.”

“He was always acting with humility,” said Mr. Lammers. “I think that gave him great love that we could all see as part of his ministry.”

Msgr. Lammers was a beloved light in his family.

Yet, “when people go into the ministry, they no longer belong to that family; they belong to God, they belong to the people,” said Mr. Lammers.

He’s convinced that Msgr. Lammers’s own struggles with mental health helped him see how to connect in deep ways with other people.

“He was able to be a more effective instrument of Christ’s peace, of Christ’s joy here on this earth, with his relationships with those people,” said Mr. Lammers.

At the funeral, Msgr. Lammers’s niece, Janice Knollmeyer, proclaimed the reading from St. John’s First Letter.

“ Fr. Don showed God’s love with his kind and gentle ways to everyone he encountered,” she later stated. “He was so peaceful and positive and you always left with a peaceful and joyful heart after visiting with him. From the Bible verse: God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.

“As Fr. Don shared God’s love with everyone, I know that God remains in him and he in God,” she said.

Fr. Corel believes Msgr. Lammers carried out his most effective ministry deep in retirement, near the end of his life.

“Going to the nursing home and praying for us through his suffering and pain and losses and embracing the cross for the sake of the Diocese of Jefferson City has likely been the most powerful and more efficacious ministry of his Priesthood,” Fr. Corel stated.

“He showed us who he was and invited us all to imitate him, and it was amazing.”

Circle of intercession

“We come here to pray for and with Monsignor Don Lammers,” Fr. Antweiler said in his homily, “to pray for him and in any and every way that he needs our prayers.

“And by the way,” the priest stated, “he would be the first to tell you, he needs your prayers!”

Msgr. Kurwicki suggested starting by thanking God that a man who grew up wanting to be a farmer ended up becoming a sower of seed, “and the seed became the word of God.”

Fr. Coleman said the Gospel “will reach so many people because of him.”

“People may forget, but the seeds of faith that Msgr. Lammers planted, those will continue,” he said.

 “That’s the beautiful thing,” said Fr. Coleman. “We loved him and he loved us. We know he’s going to pray for us.”

“God is good, and now he has a new agent working with him right there!” Mrs. Howard stated. “Like another guardian angel. An archangel!”