Rev. James McCormick

Rev. James McCormick

Fort Dodge

Rev. James D. McCormick, 76, formerly of Fort Dodge, passed away Friday, April 5, 2013 in Denver, CO, after a yearlong battle with cancer.

Funeral services will be held 10 a.m. Friday at Corpus Christi Church with Most Reverend Bishop R. Walker Nickless and the priests of the Sioux City Diocese concelebrating the Mass of Christian Burial. Burial will be at Corpus Christi Cemetery. A visitation will be after 4 p.m. Thursday at the church, with a vigil service at 7 p.m. Laufersweiler-Sievers Funeral Home is serving the family.

Father McCormick is survived by his sister-in-law, Betty Jo McCormick of Dubois, WY; brothers Mark (Victoria Herring) of Des Moines, and Dick (Mary Pat) of Denver, CO. He is preceded in death by his parents, Elmo and Virgilla, of Fort Dodge; a brother John of Dubois, Wyoming and a nephew, Ryan Mark McCormick of Des Moines.

He was an uncle to Kathy McCormick, Beth Inoko, Dan McCormick, Jim McCormick, Charlotte Campbell, Joe McCormick, Marcia McCormick, Michael McCormick, Paul McCormick, Kate McCormick, John McCormick, Matthew McCormick, Meg Tobler and Katherine McCormick, as well as 26 grand nieces and nephews.

James D. McCormick was born in Fort Dodge, IA on April 23, 1936. After graduating from Fort Dodge High School in 1954, he attended St. John's University in Collegeville, MN, graduating in 1958. After attending Mount St. Bernard Seminary in Dubuque, IA, he was ordained a Catholic Priest in Sioux City in May 1962. Father McCormick received his MS Degree in Counseling from Creighton University in 1964 and received his Certification from the Institute of Priestly Formation in 2010. Father McCormick celebrated his 50 year Golden Jubilee last year.

Throughout his career, Father McCormick served Northwest Iowa cities including Sioux City, Boone, Ledyard, Barnum, West Bend, and Carroll. While serving as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Barnum, Father McCormick was also principal of St. Edmond High School in Fort Dodge. He retired in 2008 after serving as a Pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Carroll for several years and has been in residence at St. Joseph Parish in Milford.

In 1974, Father McCormick was able to fulfill his lifelong dream of doing missionary work and moved to Moshi, Tanzania, where he lived and worked for ten years as a member of the Opus Spiritus Sancti Community. He went on to serve as International Rector of that community headquartered in Mammolshain, Germany for the next ten years, returning to IA in 1994.

After his return to IA and continuing throughout his retirement, he remained active in missionary activities in Africa, India, the Philippines, Germany, and the United States. He worked closely with the sisters from Africa and India and the priests from India currently serving in the Sioux City Diocese.

In lieu of flowers, his family asks for memorials to be forwarded to the Opus Spiritus Sancti Community, care of Father Thomas Flanagan, 1305 Okoboji Avenue, Milford, IA 51351, or to the charity of your choice.