Smallscreen News
EWTN network mourns death of Deacon Bill Steltemeier
By April MacIntyre Feb 15, 2013, 14:54 GMT
EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 32th year, is available in over 225 million television households in more than 140 countries and territories.
Sad news from EWTN Network as Deacon Bill Steltemeier, 83, who was known to millions of television viewers around the world as the longtime associate of EWTN Foundress Mother Angelica, died peacefully early this morning, Feb. 15, at his home in Hanceville, Alabama following a lengthy illness.
EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 32th year, is available in over 225 million television households in more than 140 countries and
territories.
From EWTN
"Other than Mother Angelica herself, there is no one who has been more
closely associated with the mission of EWTN throughout its history than
Deacon Bill Steltemeier," said EWTN President & Chief Executive Officer
Michael P. Warsaw. "In all respects, he was a man of incredible
faithfulness. As a husband, a father, an attorney and in his vocation
as a permanent deacon, Bill always remained focused on serving God and
serving others. He devoted himself totally to Mother Angelica's mission
and sacrificed all he had to help her build EWTN into the tremendous
vehicle for evangelization that it has become. I was privileged to know
and work alongside Bill for twenty-five years and to succeed him as
president and chief executive of the Network he loved so much. While we
mourn his passing, we take comfort from his own example of faith and
are confident he has heard those words from the Gospel of Matthew,
'Well done good and faithful servant...enter into the joy of your
master.'"
Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., the
longest-serving member of EWTN's Board of Governors, knew Deacon Bill
well. "Mother Angelica's vision and dedication inspired the founding of
Eternal Word Television Network, but the man who more than anyone
turned her vision into practical reality was Deacon Bill Steltemeier.
As Mother's coworker, right hand and friend for many years, Bill lived
out a tremendous commitment to bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to
the world through the modern media. He was an extraordinary man, and
millions of EWTN viewers will remember him with gratitude and respect.
May God console his family and grant him eternal light and joy."
Born in 1929 in Nashville, Tenn., to the late Rudolph William
Steltemeier, Sr., and Mary Ione (Phippen) Steltemeier, R. William
Steltemeier, Jr., attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in St.
Louis, Mo., and Vanderbilt University. He married Ramona Schnupp on
Aug. 22, 1953. A year later, after graduating from Vanderbilt Law
School, Bill entered the United States Army and served for two years in
France. In 1960, he co-founded the Nashville law firm of Steltemeier &
Westbrook specializing in bankruptcy and commercial law. After fifty
years, the firm is still serving clients in middle-Tennessee with
expanded areas of practice.
Both as a lawyer and as a committed Catholic, Bill served his community
in many ways. For more than three decades, he was engaged in assisting
prisoners in both their civil and spiritual rehabilitation. He
co-founded a prison Junior Chamber of Commerce program, and served on
the boards of the 7-Step Foundation, Operation Comeback, and the Dismas
House, organizations dedicated to helping former prisoners transform
their lives. In 1975, he was appointed by the Governor of Tennessee to
the state's review board for prison reform.
Of greatest significance, however, was his ordination on April 26,
1975, as a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Nashville by Bishop
Joseph A. Durick. Deacon Bill was among the first men in the United
States to be ordained to the permanent diaconate. Following his
ordination, he was appointed Catholic Chaplain to the Tennessee State
Prison for Men.
On March 9, 1978, while attending a legal convention in Chicago, Deacon
Bill first encountered Mother Mary Angelica. While Mother Angelica was
speaking, Deacon Bill heard an interior voice say to him, "Until the
day you die." He knew from that moment that his life would be devoted
to serving Mother Angelica.
When EWTN was formed in 1980, Deacon Bill became the Network's first
President and a founding board member. In 1985, he resigned from his
law firm to dedicate himself full-time to Mother Angelica and EWTN. For
22 years, Bill would commute each week from his home in Nashville to
the Network's headquarters in Irondale.
Upon Mother Angelica's retirement from active leadership of EWTN in
March of 2000, Deacon Bill took over the offices of Chairman of the
Board and Chief Executive Officer. Though he retired from the role of
chief executive in 2009, he continued to serve as Chairman of the
Network's Board of Governors until his death.
In May 2008, the degree of Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa, was conferred
upon Deacon Bill by Ave Maria University in recognition of his
accomplishments and service to the Catholic Church.
In October 2009, Deacon Bill was awarded the Pontifical Medal Pro
Ecclesia et Pontifice by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in recognition
of his lifetime of extraordinary service to the Church.
Deacon Bill Steltemeier is survived by his wife of 59 years, Ramona,
who lives in Hanceville, Alabama, where they moved in 2002, and his
brother Fred Steltemeier of Nashville, several nieces and their
families. He was preceded in death by his son, Rudy Steltemeier, III
and daughter-in-law, Debra Steltemeier.
Vespers and the Divine Mercy Chaplet will be prayed on Monday, Feb. 18
at 4:30 p.m. CT at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in
Hanceville, Ala. followed by public visitation. A Prayer Vigil and
Rosary will be prayed at 7:00 p.m. CT. The funeral Mass will be
celebrated at 9 a.m. CT Tuesday, Feb. 19 at the Shrine of the Most
Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Ala. Burial will take place at 2:30
p.m. CT Tuesday, Feb. 19 at Calvary Cemetery in Nashville.
Please see EWTN's website ( www.ewtn.com ) for information about Masses
and programs celebrating Deacon Bill's life. Services may be watched or
listened to live on EWTN television by cable or satellite (
www.ewtn.com/channelfinder ), streaming audio or video on the Internet
( http://origin.ewtn.com/audiovideo/index.asp ), EWTN mobile (
http://www.ewtn.com/mobi/ ), on the EWTN Radio Network via affiliates (
http://www.ewtn.com/radio/amfm.htm ), shortwave (
http://www.ewtn.com/radio/freq.htm ), or on satellite radio (
http://www.sirius.com/ewtn ).
