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| Fr. Tony Schumacher |
OREGON — A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Holy Mother of Consolation Catholic Church, 651 N. Main St., Oregon, on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, at 11:30 a.m. for Fr. Anthony “Tony” John Schumacher, 92, who died on Monday, Sept. 9, 2019, at Agrace Hospice and Palliative Care Center, Madison.
Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison will be the main celebrant with Fr. Patrick Norris, OP, as homilist. Visitation at Holy Mother of Consolation Catholic Church will be held on Saturday from 9 a.m. until the start of the Mass. Interment will be at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery at a later date. A funeral luncheon will take place after Mass in the Holy Mother of Consolation Church Hall.
Father Schumacher was born on June 15, 1927, in Alton, Iowa. He was predeceased by his parents, Mary (Meyers) and Nicholas Schumacher; his sister, Madeline; his brothers, Leo, George, Oscar, and Peter, and his niece Barbara Leffel.
After attending St. Mary Academy Grade School and High School in Alton, Iowa, Father Schumacher enlisted in the U.S. military and served as a T/4 Medic in the Army. After leaving the Army, he worked for many years as a journalist with The Stoughton Courier Hub, The Janesville Gazette, and the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.
Father Schumacher attended Marquette University, Milwaukee, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy. He continued his studies in philosophy and theology at St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee, and attended a year at Loyola University in Chicago, Ill.
He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop William P. O’Connor on May 28, 1960, at St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison.
Father Schumacher began serving the Diocese of Madison as a parochial vicar at St. Aloysius Parish, Sauk City; St. Bernard Parish, Madison; St. Cecilia Parish, Wisconsin Dells, and Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Madison. He was the first pastor at St. Patrick Mission, Cottage Grove, and pastor at Holy Mother of Consolation Parish, Oregon, from which he retired in 2002.
During his years of service to the Diocese of Madison, Father Schumacher taught at Queen of Apostles High School, Madison; was an active chaplain at St. Paul University Catholic Center, Madison, and the University Hospital, Madison; and was a diocesan marriage counselor with Catholic Services Welfare Bureau.
He was a member of the Presbyteral Council’s Justice and Peace Committee; Ecumenical Commission of the Priests’ Senate; Diocesan Board of Education; and was active in the Latin American Mission while ministering at Holy Mother of Consolation Parish. In his retirement, Father Schumacher provided priestly assistance at Edgewood College, St. Mary’s Hospital, and St. Mary’s Adult Daycare Center for over 12 years.
Memorials may be made to the Catholic Multicultural Center and Edgewood College, both in Madison.