Father Albert E. Harshaw, 79, priest and chaplain for the Diocese of Camden, died June 5.
He had been retired since 2015.
A viewing will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. on June 16 at Holy Trinity Parish, Saint James Church, 6415 Atlantic Ave., Ventnor. A Mass of Christian Burial will immediately follow, at 11 a.m. Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery in Mays Landing.
Born in Ventnor on Feb. 28, 1947, Father Harshaw studied at Saint Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore before being ordained a priest of the Diocese of Camden on May 18, 1973, by Bishop George Guilfoyle.
Father Harshaw served for many years as hospital chaplain at Cooper Hospital in Camden, and Ancora State Hospital in Hammonton. As well, he was chaplain of diocesan scouting starting in 1974, with his last appointment ending in 2015.
Before his retirement, he also ministered as chaplain at Saint Mary Catholic Home in Cherry Hill for a year.
“He was always concerned about the sick,” said Father James Durkin, a now-retired priest of the Diocese and fellow hospital chaplain. “Father Harshaw reached out to them in a caring, compassionate way.”
Deacon Jerry Jablonowski, who was executive director of VITALity Catholic Healthcare Services Diocese of Camden when Father Harshaw was a hospital chaplain, recalled a dedicated and energetic priest who was “a strong advocate for all patients he encountered.”
“He certainly brought the light of Christ into the lives of those he visited and prayed with, and those he anointed in their final days,” Deacon Jablonowski continued.
Msgr. Dominic Bottino, a retired priest of the diocese and longtime friend of Father Harshaw, will miss a “happy-go-lucky, humble, and easygoing” shepherd who was committed completely to the care of hospital patients and their families.
“He was faithful to them, day and night.”
In parish life, Father Harshaw served as pastor of Saint Casimir, Woodbine (now part of Saint Maximilian Kolbe Parish, Marmora) from 2000-2006.
He was parochial vicar at Saint Stephen Parish, Pennsauken, 1973; Saint Aloysius, Oaklyn (now part of Saint Joseph the Worker, Haddon Township), 1974-75; Annunciation (now part of Saint Joachim Parish), Bellmawr, 1975-79; Incarnation, Mantua, 1979-83; Saint Maria Goretti, Runnemede, 1983-87; Immaculate Conception, Bridgeton, 1987-92; and Saint Cecilia (now part of Mary, Queen of All Saints), Pennsauken, 1992-1995.
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