A funeral Mass for Fr. Charles Bormann will be held 11:00 AM Monday, July 3, 2023, at Divine Mercy Parish – St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Whittemore. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service at St. Michael’s Church Hall. A committal service will be conducted at St. Michael’s Catholic Cemetery in Whittemore following the funeral Mass. Memorial contributions may be directed to Arizona Helping Hands at 3110 E Thunderbird Rd #100, Phoenix, AZ 85032 or azhelpinghands.org.
Charles Peter Bormann was born July 22, 1933, to Charles and Anna (Hartman) Bormann. He was raised on the farm near Whittemore, Iowa and attended country school, St. Michael’s Catholic School, and Presentation Academy. Charlie then attended Loras College in Dubuque and then Mount St. Bernard Seminary in Dubuque. He also obtained a Master of Science in Education graduate degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Fr. Charlie was ordained on May 31, 1958, at the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City. His first Mass was held at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Whittemore.
Fr. Charlie served as assistant pastor at St. Mary Parish and faculty member at St. Mary High School in Remsen from 1958 to 1962. From 1962 to 1965 he was assistant pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Pocahontas and faculty member at Pocahontas Catholic High School. Fr. Charlie became pastor at St. Mary Parish in Alvord and faculty member at St. Mary School in Larchwood from 1965 to 1966. In 1966 he was appointed Superintendent of Gehlen Catholic High School in LeMars and served there until 1971. Fr. Charlie was then called to serve as pastor at St. Columbkille Parish in Varina and faculty member at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Fonda from 1971 to 1979. He was also co-pastor at Assumption Parish/St. Thomas Parish in Emmetsburg and faculty member at Emmetsburg Catholic School from 1979 to 1981.
Fr. Charlie then moved to Phoenix, Arizona. He served as chaplain in prison ministry in the Diocese of Phoenix from 1981 to 2000. He began ministering to the Maricopa County Jail. Eventually, Fr. Charlie became chaplain at the Arizona State Hospital, then chaplain at the Federal Correctional Institution where he dealt with over 20 different faith groups. He then worked at a minimum-security prison camp in Las Vegas, Nevada for three years. Fr. Charlie returned to Phoenix where he assumed the role of associate pastor at Holy Cross Parish in Mesa, Arizona. He later retired but continued to help in various parishes as needed.
Fr. Charlie and his good friend Fr. Dale George both bought RVs and traveled the country together. Fr. Charlie enjoyed hosting family members and friends in Arizona for several winters. He eventually entered Bethesda Gardens Assisted Living and Memory Care in Phoenix where he resided until his death on December 5, 2022, at the age of 89.
Fr. Charlie is survived by sisters Maurine Reding of Sacramento, CA and Sister Mary Emilie Bormann of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Dubuque, IA; sister-in-law Eileen Bormann of Algona, IA; and numerous nieces and nephews. Those preceding Fr. Charlie in death include his parents Charles and Anna; brothers Rich (Enid) Bormann, Vern (Zita) Bormann, Jerry (Norma) Bormann, and Moe (Marlene) Bormann; infant sister Anne; sister Rosie Ballard Schuster (Keith Ballard and Jim Schuster); and brother-in-law Bob Reding.
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