Crosier Father Clement “Clem” Nicholas Gustin, 94, died Nov. 2 at Mille Lacs Health System Long Term Care in Onamia. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 1 p.m., with a vigil beginning at noon, Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Crosier Priory Church, Onamia. Burial will take place in the priory cemetery following the liturgy. A luncheon will be served at the priory after the service.
Father Gustin was born Oct. 2, 1925, to Michael and Rose (Schmidt) Gustin in Flasher, North Dakota. He attended Flasher public schools during his elementary and high school years, Crosier Seminary Junior College in Onamia, and the Crosier House of Studies in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he earned a degree in philosophy in 1952. He continued his education at Immaculate Conception Monastery in Hastings, Nebraska, the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, and St. Francis College in Fort Wayne. He completed his graduate studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1964 with a master’s degree in classical studies.
He joined the Crosiers as a novice in 1949 and made his first profession of vows Aug. 28, 1950, in Hastings, Nebraska. He was ordained a priest May 28, 1955, in Hastings.
After his ordination, Father Gustin was assigned to the Crosier House of Studies in Fort Wayne as secretary to the vicar general. He then served as associate editor and business manager for the Crosier magazine “Today’s Family” in Onamia. He was a Latin teacher at Crosier Seminary in Onamia and at Our Lady of the Lake Seminary in Syracuse, Indiana, and also worked in different capacities for the Province of St. Odilia including as vice provincial and as novice director.
He later served in parish ministry as assistant pastor, pastor and senior associate in various parishes in Minnesota and Nebraska. In 2008, he retired to the Crosier community in Onamia, where he shared in religious life and served as liturgical organist, accompanying prayer for many years.
Father Gustin is survived by his Crosier confreres, five of his 14 siblings: Veronica Goeppinger, Alice (Al) Ternes, Isabelle Mahrer, Joan Eckroth and Hugo (Martha) and a large extended family. He was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings Fred, John, Paul (Leona), Andrew (Shirley), Cecilia Hoffman, Angela Kopp, Phyllis Restivo, Carol Miller and Irene Riehl.
Memorials are preferred to the Crosier Fathers and Brothers, P.O. Box 500, Onamia, MN 56359-0500.