Elmer Lewis Lampe Jr.

The Rev. Mr. Elmer Lewis Lampe, Jr., passes into the arms of the Lord on November 13, 2025 at the age of 93. He was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, and an ordained deacon in the Catholic Church. Elmer was a proud Iowan, born in Dubuque, Iowa, on March 30, 1932, and raised in Bellevue, on the banks of the Mississippi River. He attended the University of Iowa, where he earned a bachelor's degree in religion and a master's degrees in history. It was at the University where Elmer met the love of his life, his late wife, Catherine E. Nutting. Elmer and Catherine were married at the Student Chapel in Iowa City in 1958. After the births of their three children, the couple moved to Columbus, Ohio, where Elmer began a long career teaching history at Ohio Dominican University. He was ordained to the Diaconate on August 14, 1977, by the Most. Rev. Edward J. Herrmann, Bishop of Columbus. Deacon Lampe served at St. Michael Parish, Worthington; Doctor's North Hospital, Columbus; The Ohio State University Hospital; St. John Neumann Parish, Sunbury, Ohio; and as a member of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission. He retired from active ministry in 2005. Aside from God and family, Elmer loved the north woods (Alaska, in particular), exploring the pilgrimage route known as the Martyrs' Trail in Midland, Ontario, and the poems of Robert W. Service. Elmer is preceded in death by his beloved Catherine, his parents, his sister Jean, and his brother David, and is survived by his children, Mark, Matthew (Lisa), and Jean Lampe, and three grandchildren, Emma, Anna, and Zachary Lampe. A Funeral Mass will be held 10 a.m. Tuesday November 25th at Resurrection Cemetery Chapel. In lieu of flowers friends who wish may contribute in his memory to St. Michael Church or Catholic Social Services.