Let us pray in thanksgiving for the life of Fr. Anthony L. Dagelen, SJ, who died on December 7, 2024 at St. Camillus Jesuit Community in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He was 98 years old. May he rest in peace.
Tony was preceded in death by his parents Edward and Margaret (nee Kraus) Dagelen and his siblings: Joseph Dagelen, Elizabeth Bach, Eleanor Brophy, Margaret Arbanas, Joan Thelen, and Agnes Stockhausen. He is also preceded in death by his nephew, Fr. Gerard (Gerry) Stockhausen, SJ. Tony is survived by many nieces and nephews.
Tony was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on June 12, 1926. After serving in the U.S. Navy in Japan during the post-war occupation, Tony used the G.I. Bill to pay his tuition at Marquette University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electronics (1951) and did a year of further studies (1953-1954). Tony entered the Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus at the Jesuit Novitiate in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on August 17, 1954, and became a member of the Wisconsin Province when it was formed in 1955. He was ordained a priest on June 8, 1965 at the Church of the Gesu in Milwaukee and pronounced final vows at Holy Rosary Mission in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, on April 22, 1971.
While in the Society, Tony earned a licentiate in philosophy from Saint Louis University (1959), a master’s degree in education from South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota (1966), and a bachelor’s degree of sacred theology from St. Marys College in St. Marys, Kansas (1967).
During regency, Tony taught math and general science at Red Cloud Indian School (1959-1962). After ordination, he returned to Holy Rosary Mission where he ministered for over three decades. During his time on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Tony was a teacher of religion and physics at Red Cloud (1967-1974), an administrator and treasurer of Holy Rosary Mission (1974-1976), and an administrator of Lourdes Mission Station and School (1976-1982). After a well-deserved sabbatical, Tony returned to Red Cloud Indian School where he taught religion (1983-1991) and was a chaplain in the elementary school (1991-1996).
In 1996, Tony was missioned to the St. Camillus Jesuit Community where he worked and lived until his death — almost three decades later. He served the community as the assistant superior until in 2011, at the age of 85, he was missioned to pray for the Church and the Society.
Tony was a devoted Jesuit who loved engaging people, especially in the sacraments. Tony’s love of being with others probably came from his growing up in a large family in Milwaukee. He had a plethora of nieces and nephews, many of which gathered round Tony in his final days. One nephew entered the Society of Jesus: the late Gerard (Gerry) Stockhausen who, in addition to many other fruitful ministries, was president of the University of Detroit Mercy. All of his nieces and nephews remember laughing heartily over the years at Tony’s humorous one-liners, such as “You don’t get down off an elephant; you get down off a goose.” Tony’s sense of humor extended beyond “one liners”: While studying at Marquette University, he was president of the Avalanche Club which transformed a hill (Maryvale) outside Milwaukee into a piste, (i.e., a skiing hill).
Tony’s idea of family extended beyond blood relations as he considered everyone to whom he ministered a member of his “family”. People felt accepted, respected, and cared for by Tony and they easily welcomed him into their lives and homes.
Tony was a steady man, absolutely reliable, willing to do whatever needed to be done. He had great practical skills. He was always calm, even when others were not. His more than thirty years among the Lakȟóta gave him some understanding of what it means to be poor, and his many years serving his brother Jesuits at St. Camillus taught him something about sickness and suffering. So he was at peace when the Lord he served so faithfully called him home.
Fr. Peter Klink, SJ, has these memories of Tony:
Having lived and ministered for some time with Tony among the Lakȟóta people here on the Pine Ridge, my sense is that Tony simply wanted to energize and uplift people. He had come to know and experience the richness and cultural gifts of the people. He provided leadership administratively but he also spent time in the schools, classrooms, and in the driver’s seat of school buses. On a regular basis, one would hear him empowering students with, “Go get ‘em, good guys!” He knew their capacity, their ability, and their goodness!
