TL Michael Auman

TL Michael Auman, son of Norval Lee Auman and Gertrude Barabara Koempel was born in Dubuque, IA. As an intriguing twist of fate at his birth, his parents, undecided between Terry and Larry, led to the physician inscribing 'TL' on the birth certificate. Both letters were uppercase, with no periods or spaces included. Later, he was baptized as Terence Lee, but at twenty-one, he legally embraced his unique birth name, TL.

In his own words, TL describes himself as "a very religious kid," attending mass daily in the time preceding the Vatican II era. During his undergraduate studies in Madison, he recalls stepping out from a Sunday mass in English, bewilderingly muttering, "This isn't Catholic." Guided back to the Church through friendship with a priest in Sheboygan, TL began to discern his calling to the priesthood while teaching at a high school.

In 1975 TL entered the diocesan St Francis Seminary in Milwaukee, where the Capuchins also sent their theology students. In his contact with the Capuchins, TL discerned well that it wasn't priesthood but religious life calling him.

His journey with the Capuchins commenced in September 1976 as a candidate in Milwaukee, WI. TL received the habit of probation on August 12th of the following year at the novitiate in Huntington, Indiana, making his first profession in August 1978.

While in Temporary Profession, TL started a GED program at Jefferson House, a branch of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen serving indigent men overcoming substance addictions, and was active in the Catholic Worker Movement in Detroit. In 1980, he joined the faculty of St. Lawrence Seminary in Mt. Calvary, WI, and served as a chaplain at Kettle Moraine Prison the subsequent year.

Following his solemn profession on August 21, 1982, TL served as a vocation counselor and recruiter for St. Lawrence Seminary. In July 1984, he became the Postulancy Director in Detroit, MI. In 1986, he was appointed by the provincial council to be the Director of Publications, a role that eventually evolved into the Director of Capuchin Communication - a position he held with dedication for three decades.

In 1991, TL took a sabbatical at the Culture and Creation Spirituality graduate program in Berkley, CA. This sabbatical led him to become a certified massage therapist. On his return to the Communications Office in Milwaukee, he was deeply moved by the plight of marginalized men and women affected by AIDS. He devoted his time to a center that provided care for gay men with AIDS, often being the only source of human contact for those abandoned by their families and society. In recognition of their suffering, TL kept the names of these individuals by his bedside, never forgetting their loss.

After battling cancer for many years, TL transitioned to hospice care at his home on May 5th, 2023. He moved to Milwaukee Catholic Home on June 6th to continue hospice care, and on June 7th, our brother, TL Michael Auman, peacefully accepted the embrace of Sister Death. He departed this world resting in the knowledge that his Capuchin brothers were praying for him. We celebrate his life and mourn his passing.

TL is preceded in death by his parents, Norval Lee Auman and Gertrude Barbara Koempel. He leaves behind his brother Richard; sisters Frances Rosenthal, Patricia Brown, Kristine Keene, and Mari Lynn Auman; and a brotherhood of Capuchins with whom he lived, prayed, and ministered for over four decades.

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Funeral arrangements are scheduled for Tuesday, June 20th, at St Francis Church,

1937 Vel R. Phillips Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53212

Visitation will begin at 4:00 PM Central time.

The Liturgy of Christian Burial will begin at 5:30 PM (reception to follow.)

Burial at the Friar's Cemetery, Mt. Calvary, WI, at a later date.