Hudson’s Father Peter dies at 78; service is Monday

• The Rev. Peter Szleszinski

The Rev. Peter Szleszinski

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• Funeral for Father Peter is Monday, bishops will officiate

The Rev. Peter Szleszinski, the pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Hudson for nearly 19 years, died Tuesday, Nov. 18, at River Falls Area Hospital.

He had been suffering from cancer.

According to the O’Connell Family Funeral Home of Hudson, funeral arrangements are pending.

Szleszinski will be remembered for spearheading construction of the present St. Patrick Church on Vine Street, as well as leading a $4 million building project at St. Patrick School.

“He was a great man who has had a great influence on what our parish of St. Patrick has become, and for that he has earned and deserves our respect,” John Knutson, a parish member, said in reporting Szleszinski’s death.

“What people may have perceived to be his shortcomings were certainly overshadowed by his determination for our parish to succeed, his devotion to the Catholic faith, and his love for the Lord,” Knutson said.

Born near Strickland on Sept. 11, 1930, Szleszinski attended a public one-room school through eighth grade. He then attended Catholic high schools, graduating from St. Mary’s High School in Orchard Lake, Mich.

He attended St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee and was ordained into the priesthood on May 26, 1956, in Superior.

He served as a parish priest for close to 48 years before his retirement in January 2005. He served parishes in Spooner, Rice Lake, Merrill, Lake Tomahawk, Gilman, and Merrill again, before coming to Hudson in June 1986.

Watch www.hudsonstarobserver.com for updates on Szleszinski’s funeral arrangements.

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