Often when it is time to write a blog there is no topic to write about. My brain suffers writer’s block.

All I do when that happens is wait a few days and something will occur in my life that I recognize as the perfect blog.

I did not have that problem this time, however.

My brother-in-law, Father Stan Wieser, spent four months in the Wheaton Senior Center waiting to die.

The leukemia was ravaging his red blood cells, and he chose to stop all treatment and wait for the inevitable.

I admired his decision and wondered how I would have reacted under similar circumstances.

I knew Stan before he became a priest.

I came to Wheaton in 1967 as a rookie biology teacher and immediately became acquainted with Kathie Wieser, Stan’s sister.

That will be a topic for another blog, however. 🙂

I became involved in the Ave Maria Catholic Church choir upon arrival.

Stan was scheduled to become ordained that summer, so I and the rest of the choir were blessed to sing at his ordination Mass.

Having a priest for a brother-in-law was a little nerve wracking as I was concerned when confession time rolled around would I have to pick and choose the sins I confessed?

I could imagine as I was kneeling in the confessional Father Stan’s  voice would roar, “You did what?”

Fortunately, that never happened. 🙂

I soon found out as I got to know Stan that he was not like any other priest that I had ever known.

He was a punster supreme!

I was fairly active as a punster too.

If I got what I thought was a credible pun Stan would retaliate with three credible puns. He spit them out like he was a machine gunner.

To be a priest must also include being lonely at times.

Father Stan compensated for that by being social and visiting with everyone.

If there was a question about what was happening in the community, ask Stan. He always knew the answer. Not in a gossiping way, of course.

I think he thought of it as a community service. 🙂

Father Stan was proud of the fact that he was a rebel in the late 50’s.

He shared a story with me about a little skullduggery that he carried out while in the seminary. It seems he did not go home one Christmas but stayed alone in the seminary at St. John’s. (This has not been fact checked.)

During the summer he worked for an electrician in Wheaton. Using that electrical knowledge, Stan got into a little mischief as he spent the lonely days at St. John’s.

He went into the room that contained the wiring and changed things up.

Normally the lights in the seminarians sleeping quarters would go off at a certain time. Stan changed the wiring, so the lights stayed on and the lights in the priest’s living area went off.

Also, he changed the timing of bells signaling the start and ending of classes.

What a rebel! 🙂

Stan was also my golfing partner for many years.

He was very competitive but then so was I.

He would try to coach me saying such things as, “You lifted your head.” “You dropped your shoulder.”

I’m sure he was secretly saying several rosaries just to get through the eighteen holes! 🙁

Stan’s siblings and their families were always a part of his life.

He never missed an opportunity to gather with his siblings and especially the nieces and nephews who adored him.

Stan acquired an old ambulance that had been retired by the Wheaton hospital.

He took us on a trip to the north shore one summer. Stan loved it when people stared in disbelief as we cruised by.

Stan loved to watch his nieces play basketball and seldom missed a game.

Liar’s dice was one of Stan’s favorite games. He played it several times a week and what an advantage he had. Who would think a priest would be so skillful at telling lies?

We can’t forget the many years that Stan rode his bike all around the state of Minnesota raising money for needy causes. He got a t-shirt for each summer’s ride and to this day the t-shirts were a part of his wardrobe.

We will never know all the good things he did for people. He never talked about that. It was always between Stan, the person and God.

I’m sure in Heaven Stan’s jeweled crown will reflect that.

Once a priest always a priest. Stan did retire but food shelf work and having funerals for families who asked made that retirement a tad questionable.

I mentioned earlier that Stan was unlike any priest I had ever known.

He was not aloof, but he met each of us at our level. He was our friend. He fist- bumped little kids, let out a scream to get everyone’s attention, barked like a dog, announced puns at remarkable speed and guided us on the road to Heaven.

What more can we ask?

Rest in peace, Father Stan! 🙂

Until next time.