Rev. Father Robert Stemper, 82, Minot, formerly of Fond du Lac, Wis., died Friday, Sept. 25, 2009, in a Minot hospital.

Robert Irving Stemper was born Dec. 17, 1926, a son of Joseph and Mary (Schaefer) Stemper, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He was raised and educated in Fond du Lac and graduated from Sturgeon High School.

Robert served in the United States Army Air Corps from June of 1945 to January 1947.

With a start at Marquette University he began his studies for the priesthood in 1948. He was ordained in Tokyo on March 18, 1962, as a Jesuit Religious Priest. After several years with the Jesuits in Japan, he came back to the United States, continuing his calling as a Traditional Roman Catholic Priest.

Rev. Father Stemper came to Sacred Heart Parish in Appleton, Wis., in the spring of 1976. He continued serving there until Holy Week of 1986. He came to the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Prairie in Powers Lake. He served there until Sept. 30, 1987, when he went to the Our Lady of the Sun International Shrine, El Mirage, Ariz. He served there until October of 1999, when he came back to the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Prairie in Powers Lake. In April of 2000, he went to help out at Holy Innocent School in Waite Park, Minn. He retired on May 26, 2002, returned to North Dakota, and made his home in Minot.

Surviving family includes: brother, Donald Stemper, Port Charlotte, Fla.; niece, Adel Cook, Port Charlotte; nephew, Dennis Stemper, Bolingbrook, Ill.; cousins, James Stadler, Bellflower, Calif., and Beverly Gosz, Oshkosh, Wis.

Rev. Fr. Stemper was preceded in death by his parents; and sister-in-law, Melba Stemper.

Requiem Divine Liturgy: Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009, at 10 a.m. at St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church, 812 N. Main St., Minot.

Rite of Interment: Calvary Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wis.

Visitation: Today, Sept. 28, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Thompson-Larson Funeral Home, Minot.

Vigil wake service: Today at 7 p.m. at St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church, Minot.

Memorials: Memorials are preferred to St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church, Minot.

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