Father Wayne Epperley, C.S.Sp., one of 12 vocations from Tooele, laid to rest

Friday, Aug. 14, 2020

TOOELE — On Aug. 5, St. Marguerite Parish celebrated the life of Fr. Wayne Epperley, a member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, who died on July 3 after a brief illness.

Fr. Epperley, who grew up in Tooele and was ordained a priest at St. Marguerite’s on Oct. 1, 1983, was one of five priests and seven deacons who have come out of the parish in recent years.

The priests are, in addition to Fr. Epperley, Msgr. John Sullivan (deceased), Fr. Clarence Sandoval, now pastor of Saint Rose of Lima Parish; Fr. Kenneth Vialpando, now the diocese’s Vicar for Clergy; and Fr. David Bittmenn, now pastor of Saint George Parish.

The deacons are Deacon Mansueto Flaim, Deacon Jim Garcia,  Deacon Rick Huffman, Deacon Joe  H. Cormier and Deacon William Januszewski, all of whom are assigned to St. Marguerite’s; and Deacon Bob Carranza and Deacon Mark Bourget, both of whom are deceased.

“To me, the fact that St. Marguerite Parish in Tooele was able to promote, foster and nourish 12 vocations from one small community is nothing less than a miracle, thanks to the grace of God, inspiring pastors, dedicated teachers, faith-filled parishioners, and last, but not least, elderly women who loved praying the rosary, day in and day out,” Fr. Vialpando said.

The parishioners at St. Marguerite contributed their time, talent and treasure to these men as they pursued their vocations, and “were there to inspire, encourage and support us in one way or another from the beginning of our training up to the present day,” said Fr. Vialpando, who was ordained in 1991. “We all know the phrase, ‘It takes a whole village to raise a child.’ The same can be said of a vocation to the priesthood or religious life: It takes a whole parish to foster a vocation.”

When people hear about the 12 vocations that have come out of St. Marguerite Parish, “someone will inevitably say that there must have been something in the water there in Tooele which contributed to that many vocations,” he added. “And they are right: There was definitely something in the water, the water that we all know as our baptismal water, which I firmly believe is where each vocation to the priesthood, religious life, married life or solitary life begins. It’s there in that ‘water’ where Christ calls each and every one of us to follow him. All I can say is, thank God for that baptismal font in St. Marguerite Catholic Church there in Tooele, Utah.”

Msgr. Sullivan, who served as pastor of St. Marguerite’s from 1970 to 1982, “was from Tooele, and he returned to Tooele with the idea that the faith is important and an ability to express that idea in many different words and actions,” said Fr. Bittmenn, who was ordained in 1994.

The concept of the importance of faith matched nicely with the ideas passed down in many families in St. Marguerite Parish, he said.  

“Tooele also had more Catholics than other towns its size years ago. A copper mine brought many Italian families, and later, in the late 1940s, an army depot opened and attracted many Hispanic families from southern Colorado and northern New Mexico,” Fr. Bittmenn said. 

Msgr. Sullivan, who died in 2005, had a tremendous impact on the lives of many people in Tooele, said Fr. Sandoval.

This “probably stirred the interest of many vocations. … The most marvelous way of serving God is to serve his people,” said Fr. Sandoval, who was ordained in 1987.

Despite the high number of vocations that already have come out of Tooele, Fr. Vialpando said he firmly believes that “the grace of God is just picking up steam there in Tooele, and therefore, St. Marguerite Parish still has the potential to foster more vocations to the priesthood, religious life and married life, if the parishioners are still willing to invest their prayers, in and outside of the Mass, to this great cause. … Because the Church, like the rest of the world, is going through some turbulent times, we need men and women of all ages to rise to the occasion with the plan and hope of making that difference in the world by saying, ‘Here I am, Lord!’”

 At the memorial Mass for Fr. Epperley, Fr. Vialpando presided. Concelebrants were Fr. Rafael Murillo, the parish administrator, and Fr. Michael White, C.S.Sp. Assisting were Deacon Flaim and Deacon Huffman.

In the course of his ministry, Fr. Epperley served in Utah in Milford, St. George, Kearns and Salt Lake City, as well as in Mexico, Brazil, Arkansas, Colorado, Michigan and California. At the time of his death, he was serving as pastor of Old St. Mary's and temporary administrator of Holy Family Parish, both in Detroit, Mich.

Fr. White, who was a classmate of Fr. Epperley’s, gave the homily at the memorial Mass in Tooele.

“The last time I was here was for Fr. Wayne’s ordination,” which was on the feast day of St. Therese of Lisieux, patroness of the missions, he said.

Fr Epperley had a missionary spirit, Fr. White said. “He was able to travel and go to wherever he was assigned,” and he touched thousands of people through his ministry.

In every homily that he gave and through his ministry, Fr. Epperley preached “a message that we frequently forget. ... That is the message that God provides; God, who gave us life, calls us to trust. God doesn’t limit his love,” Fr. White said.

 At the end of the service, Fr. Vialpando said he was inspired by Fr. Epperley’s gift of humility, which “shone forth in the way that he lived out his priesthood, celebrated the Mass, administered the sacraments, honored his parents and served the people.”

Whether Fr. Epperley was celebrating the Mass, teaching a class, or just hanging out with family and friends, “he was always soft-spoken, gentle, kind and friendly – qualities which drew people to him in every parish that he was assigned to during his priesthood,” Fr. Vialpando said. “Fr. Epperley’s spirit, personality and humility definitely testified to the fact that he wasn’t there to lord it over the people, but to truly serve and minister to the people that were entrusted to his care by following the example of Jesus, the Great High Priest, who proclaimed, ‘The Son of Man didn’t come to be served, but to serve.’”  

In a later interview, Fr. Bittmenn said that one of his fondest memories of Fr. Epperley was when “he once mentioned that in order to find faith one must first lose it. It's a provocative-sounding statement, but it does get to one of the truths of the faith: in order to grow, there needs to be risks and what notion that was sufficient for one period of time needs to grow to meet other periods of time.” 

Following the Mass, Fr. Epperley was buried in Tooele City Cemetery.