Father William S. Vandegrift, a priest known for his warmth and sense of humor, died Oct. 6, a few months after his retirement. He was 72.
He had been pastor Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish in Brigantine. He was pastor of Saint James Parish, Penns Grove, 1997-2003, and then served at Saint Raymond, first as administrator, 2003-04, and then as pastor, 2004-10.
Father Edward Maher, current pastor of Saint Thomas, had been friends with Father Vandegrift for 42 years, since they were in seminary together.
“He was a very good person, very much a people person,” Father Maher said. “Even when he wasn’t feeling well, he always received people with warmth. He helped lead people to God.”
He added, “The thing that everyone said was that he had a sense of humor.”
And he loved to sing. Rectory staff remembered him joking that he wanted his casket carried as people sang Peter, Paul and Mary’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” They also remembered a priest whose door “was always open” and who refused to let any kind of physical ability, such as his poor eyesight, stop him from his duties.
“We loved him here,” Father Maher said.
Earlier this month, Eighth Street in Brigantine was designated Father Bill’s Way in Father Vandegrift’s honor.
Father Vandegrift was born in Philadelphia and attended Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Md. He was ordained May 24, 1980.
His first assignment was as parochial vicar at Mary, Mother of the Church Parish, Bellmawr, where he spent the next three years.
He subsequently served as parochial vicar of Saint Matthew Parish, National Park, 1983-87; Saint Maria Goretti, Runnemede, 1987-92, and Saint Augustine, Ocean City, 1992-94. He was administrator at Saint Augustine, 1994-97.
Father Vandegrift also formerly served as spiritual moderator for the ministry to separated and divorced Catholics.
A funeral Mass was celebrated Oct. 12 at Saint Thomas the Apostle Church.
Burial was at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham, Pa.
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