OBITUARIES : Msgr. John W. Siebert of Fullerton Parish
A funeral Mass for Msgr. John William Siebert was scheduled for today at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Fullerton, where he was pastor for 29 years.
He died Sunday at Scripps Memorial Hospital-Encinitas after a long bout with heart disease.
Born April 13, 1906, in Worcester, Mass., Siebert was ordained June 10, 1933, at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield, Mass., and was assigned to St. Victor’s Church in Hollywood the same year.
He was assistant pastor, teacher and football coach at St. Monica’s Church and School in Santa Monica from 1937 to 1949, became pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Fullerton in 1954, and served in that capacity until his official retirement on the 50th anniversary of his ordination in 1983.
At St. Mary’s he led the rebuilding of the church after a devastating fire and helped launch three nearby parishes--St. Philip’s Church and School, St. Juliana’s Church and School and St. Angela Merisi Church and School--and aided in construction of Rosary High School.
Active in civic affairs, he was selected as the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce’s Man of the Year in 1981 and was appointed a prelate of honor with the title of monsignor by Pope Paul VI in 1974.
He leaves a sister, Mildred Chrisney of Santa Monica, a niece and a nephew.
Today’s Mass is set for 10 a.m., with interment at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Orange.
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