Obituary: Crosier Father Thomas Carkhuff

Crosier Father Thomas Raymond Carkhuff, 70, died March 2 in Onamia. Funeral services will be held March 10 at the Crosier Priory Church, 102 Crosier Drive North, Onamia. Reception of the Body will take place at 1 p.m. with Prayers for the Dead. Vigil will be kept until the funeral Mass begins at 3 p.m. Dinner will be served following the funeral liturgy. A private burial will take place at the Crosier cemetery at a later date.

Father Thomas “Tom” Raymond Carkhuff was born July 10, 1948, in Wadena, Minnesota, to Raymond Elmer and Leona Catherine (Kupfer) Carkhuff. He attended Crosier High School and Junior College in Onamia and St. Francis College/Indiana University where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in social science.

Father Carkhuff entered the Crosier novitiate in Hastings, Nebraska, on Aug. 27, 1968, and professed first vows on Aug. 28, 1969. He completed his graduate studies in theology in 1973 at the Crosier House of Studies in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He spent the following years in pastoral ministry and further theological studies at the Catholic Theological Union prior to his ordination. He was ordained a priest May 15, 1976, in Fort Wayne.

After his ordination, Father Carkhuff was assigned to the Crosier House of Studies in the Development and Lay Apostolate office. He then worked in parish ministry in Aitkin, Minnesota, and St. Cloud. He served in different capacities for the Province of St. Odilia, including as formation director in Chicago; provincial assistant for vowed life; member of the provincial council in Minneapolis; prior of the Crosier Community of Shoreview (Minnesota) for two terms; and director of the Asmat Initiative and the American Museum of Asmat Art in Shoreview. He was elected prior provincial in 1999 and served for three terms.

During his tenure, the province offices moved to Phoenix in July 2007. After his service as prior provincial concluded in 2011, Father Carkhuff returned to the Crosier Community of Onamia, where he served as post-novitiate formation director, providing guidance for the young men who were in the early stages of living out their vocation. He also served as co-director of the Crosiers’ Fundraising Pilot Program in Onamia working with confreres in Indonesia and Democratic Republic of the Congo. He served as a member of the General Formation Commission and on the board of the Resource Center for Religious Institutes from 2009 to 2015, including two years as chair of the board.

Father Carkhuff is survived by sisters and brothers Mary Blom, Sue Hieb, Joyce Hieb, Bill, Trish Steinkopf, and Jim and their families; his Crosier confreres and numerous friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and his oldest brother, Roger (Butch), and youngest brother, Mike.

Memorials are preferred for the Rev. Thomas R. Carkhuff, OSC, Formation and Leadership Development Scholarship c/o the Crosier Fathers and Brothers, P.O. Box 500, Onamia, MN 56359-0500.

Author: The Central Minnesota Catholic

The Central Minnesota Catholic is the magazine for the Diocese of St. Cloud.

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