Father Lammers served 54 years in the priesthood

Retired Father Ralph Lammers, whose 54 years of priesthood included serving in 10 rural and urban parishes, died Jan. 21 at his home in Omaha. He was 85.

A memorial Mass, with Archbishop George J. Lucas presiding, was held Jan. 31 at St. Cecilia Cathedral, both in Omaha. Father Lammers donated his body to science, and inurnment will take place at a later date at Calvary Cemetery, also in Omaha.

Father Lammers wasn’t flashy, but he was faith-filled and steady, said retired Father Hugh Schwartz, who gave the homily, and who lived down the hall from Father Lammers at the St. John Vianney Residence in Omaha.

“He didn’t need the bells ringing and everybody notice,” Father Schwartz said. “He just did his job, and he did it well.”

When he was younger, Father Lammers enjoyed golfing, fishing and snow skiing, often traveling with others to the slopes of Colorado, Father Schwartz said.

Born in Fordyce, Father Lammers was ordained in 1963, and served four years as assistant pastor of St. Boniface Parish in Elgin. He also was assistant pastor of St. Thomas More Parish and St. Cecilia Cathedral parishes in Omaha. He was named pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Petersburg in 1973, and served as pastor of St. Mary Parish in Bellevue, then-Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Omaha, St. Peter Parish in Newcastle and St. Mary Parish in Schuyler.

He was pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul Parish in Omaha from 1998 until 2000, when he was granted a leave of absence due to illness. His last assignment in 2002 was as senior associate pastor of St. Gerald Parish in Ralston.

Father Lammers was preceded in death by his parents, Ignatius and Gertrude; sisters, Rita Lange and Betty Webb; and brothers, Charles and Arthur. Survivors include sisters Dorothy Lammers and Alice Lammers, both of Omaha, and Helen Soukup of Lander, Wyo.