Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2008 / Fr. Neffy was prayerful, quick-witted
Fr. Neffy was prayerful, quick-witted
by Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published June 13, 2008
To parishioners, he was the down-to-earth priest who greeted you by name before Mass. To fellow priests, he was a quick-witted friend who loved company.
But to all who knew him, his friends said, Fr. Arthur Neffy was an advocate in prayer and a model of what it means to serve the Lord tirelessly.
"He prayed quite a bit every day," said Fr. Anthony Richter, a younger priest who had looked up to Fr. Neffy as a seminarian. "He was always praying for others, in a very loving way. He was very generous and kind – those are some of the things I admired most about him." Fr. Neffy died June 4 in a hospital near his home in Florida. He was 86, and had served as a priest for 61 years.
"He was candid and friendly," said his ordination classmate Fr. James O'Hagan, who kept in close touch with Fr. Neffy over the years and even once traveled to the Holy Land with him. "He sounded fierce, but he had a soft heart, really."
Fr. Neffy was born May 29, 1922 in Detroit to Arthur and Adeline (Zimmerman) Neffy. He attended Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit and Mount St. Mary Seminary in Norwood, Ohio.
He was ordained May 31, 1947 and celebrated his first Mass at Presentation Church in Detroit.
Fr. Neffy served as an assistant pastor at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Ann Arbor from 1947 until 1953; Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Grotto) Parish in Detroit from 1953 until 1958; St. Paul on the Lake Parish in Grosse Pointe Farms from 1958 until 1963; and St. Brendan Parish in Detroit from 1963 until 1966.
He then was pastor at St. Beatrice Parish in Southfield (1966-77), also serving a portion of that time as vicar of the Farmington-Southfield Vicariate. Fr. Neffy was pastor of St. Leonard of Port Maurice Parish in Warren (1977-86). In 1986 he took up his last pastorate, at St. Conrad Parish in Melvindale, where he served until attaining senior priest status in 1992.
Those who knew him recall how he would always welcome parishioners into the church before weekend liturgies.
"He was out in front every Sunday, rain or shine, greeting the parishioners as they came to Mass," said Eleanore Macko, who was a volunteer bookkeeper for St. Conrad during Fr. Neffy's pastorate.
Macko, who also was president of a senior group at the parish, recalled how Fr. Neffy would always make time for them, having lunch with them on Fridays. She also said he would take care of the property – pulling weeds from the sidewalk, or mowing the grass. And he enjoyed sitting in the yard, smoking his pipe and watching planes go by.
"He was just a wonderful man. A great man," she said. "We felt very privileged to have him as such a good friend for the years that he was here, and after he left."
Fr. Richter added that Fr. Neffy was never one to pull any punches while giving advice: "He had a very direct way of speaking."
He also said Fr. Neffy's wit was hard to match. "He was very quick witted," Fr. Richter said. "He had a quick answer. A fun, quick answer – brilliant."
Fr. Erwin Bauer, an ordination classmate of Fr. Neffy, said Fr. Neffy knew what the Lord expected of him in ministry.
"He knew what the priesthood was all about," Fr. Bauer said. "His attachment to the Church was something to be praised for."
Because Fr. Neffy's mother died while he was still in seminary, Fr. Bauer said his own family spent a lot of time with Fr. Neffy.
Fr. Neffy enjoyed sports, having played football when he was young and golf when he was older. He also enjoyed travel. Fr. Bauer recalled how he and Fr. Neffy would take road trips to scenic parts of Canada when they would have a week off.
"We would get out as fast as we could, and probably come back an hour before confessions on Saturday," he said. The two also had a cabin on Harsens Island where they would fish and hunt.
After attaining senior priest status, Fr. Neffy moved to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. But he didn't leave behind his ministry, said Fr. Ed Zaorski, another close friend.
"He never retired from the priesthood," Fr. Zaorski said. "He even took his day off in retirement. He was a very prayerful man."
Fr. Zaorski said that the second reading chosen for Fr. Neffy's funeral Mass was 2 Timothy 4:7: "I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith."
He said the reading was fitting to describe Fr. Neffy's life: "He reached the finish line because of his dedication to the priesthood." Fr. Neffy's funeral Mass was to have been June 11 at St. Conrad Church in Melvindale. Burial was to have taken place at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield.
Memorials suggested to Priest's Pension Fund, in care of Department of Finance, Archdiocese of Detroit, 1234 Washington Blvd., Detroit 48226-1825.
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