Father Anthony Palmese

PALMESE,
FATHER ANTHONY, 71
Ocala - Father Anthony Palmese died on February 2, 2012. He was born on June 19, 1940 in Montclair, NJ, the son of Anthony and Maryann. He was a police officer with the City of Montclair, NJ for seven years before responding to the call to priesthood. He studied at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington, NJ. Bishop John Dougherty ordained him priest at Our Lady of Mount Carmel on May 22, 1976 for the Order of Augustinian Recollects. His first assignment after ordination was as parochial vicar and eventually pastor of Most Holy Crucifix in New York. He moved to Topeka, Kansas, where he served as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In 1985, he came to the Diocese of Orlando. He was incardinated in the Orlando Diocese in 1989 and served at Our Lady of Lourdes in Melbourne and St. Paul in Leesburg. While he served at Our Lady of Lourdes in Melbourne, he founded the parish Hispanic Ministry. In 1993, he was appointed pastor of St. Jude Catholic Community in Ocala (Marion Oaks), FL. He also served as Spiritual Director for the Cursillo Movement and as Northern Deanery Spiritual Director for the Orlando Council of Catholic Women. During his active priesthood, Father Palmese served as a law enforcement chaplain and offered his talents to assist others in the creation of law enforcement chaplaincy programs through his lectures and writings on the subject. He designed a number of courses to assist law enforcement in critical incident response, crisis response, substance abuse and incident stress. He served as a member of the crisis intervention team for the County of Marion and the City of Ocala. He retired from the priesthood in 2009 and served as pastor-emeritus of St. Jude Catholic Community until his death. During his retirement, he ministered as a chaplain aboard cruise ships with the Apostleship of the Sea. He is survived by his sister, Mary Ann, sister-in-law, Carol, nieces Cheryl and Jessica; and nephews Thomas, Kevin and Brian. A wake service will be held at St. Jude Catholic Community, 443 Marion Oaks Dr., Ocala (Marion Oaks), FL on Sunday, February 5, 2012 from 4-8 p.m. A funeral mass will also be celebrated at the church on Monday, February 6, 2012 at 10 a.m. Interment will take place at San Pedro Spirituality Center Priests Cemetery, 2400 Dike Road, Winter Park, Florida on Monday, February 6, 2012 at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Catholic Community, 443 Marion Oaks Dr., Ocala, FL 34473 or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or the American Heart Association, 303 S.E. 17th Street, #309-167, Ocala, FL 34471. Arrangements are being handled by Hiers-Baxley Funeral Services, Ocala, FL.