Let us pray in thanksgiving for the life of Fr. Donald F. Rauscher, SJ who died on October 8, 2024 at St. Camillus Jesuit Community in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He was 91 years old. May he rest in peace.
He was preceded in death by his parents Frederick and Louise (nee Kashinski) Rauscher, his sister Mary Eileen and her husband Franklin Koenig. He is survived by his sister’s children and grandchildren.
Don was born in Peru, Illinois, on December 23, 1932. He attended La Salle-Peru-Oglesby Junior College in La Salle, Illinois (1950-1952), and earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Marquette University (1955) before entering the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus on August 25, 1956 at the Jesuit Novitiate in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He was ordained a priest on June 4, 1968 at the Church of the Gesu in Milwaukee and pronounced final vows at Holy Rosary Mission in South Dakota on June 12, 1982.
While in the Society, Don earned master’s degrees in philosophy (1962), mathematics (1964), and Biblical literature (1969) from Saint Louis University. He also earned a licentiate degree in Sacred Theology from Saint Louis University (1969). Don also engaged in doctoral studies in theology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee (1972-1977).
During regency, Don taught at Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin (1962-1965). After ordination, he was an instructor at Marquette University (1969-1971). Before and after his doctoral studies, he was missioned to perform pastoral ministry at Holy Rosary Mission and teach at Red Cloud Indian School in South Dakota (1971-1972; 1977-1988).
In 1988, Don focused his apostolic energies on library science and spent eleven years as a librarian at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome (1988-1999) and four years as a librarian at Saint Louis University (2000-2004). He then was a hospital chaplain and a pastoral minister at: the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Mankato, Minnesota (2004-2008); parishes in Mankato (2008-2015); and at Creighton University (2015-2018). Don was missioned to the St. Camillus Jesuit Community in 2018 to pray for the Church and the Society.
Don was a faithful Jesuit priest, intellectually alive, and unafraid to take up new challenges in different areas of ministry, going where the need was the greatest: South Dakota, Rome, and Minnesota. He was a teacher, librarian, and especially dedicated to pastoral ministry in parishes and hospital chaplaincy.
He enjoyed reading about and engaging others in discussions about world affairs. Because of his deep love of singing, when he was living at Creighton University, Don joined the choir at St. John’s Church. He loved socializing with the choir members and singing with them at both rehearsals and Masses. He was spirited, independent, and clear about what he wanted and needed. He lived simply. He accepted his declining health with equanimity and died peacefully.
