Obituaries

Father Godfrey F. Burkhardt, O.S.B.

Father Godfrey F. Burkhardt, O.S.B., the son of the late Edward and Anna (Harkin) Burkhardt, a monk of Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, PA, died on January 1, 2004. He was 85 years old. Father Godfrey was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 26, 1918. He is the first born of three brothers, the late Charles Burkhardt, and Edward Burkhardt of Baltimore.

He attended Fourteen Holy Martyrs Grade School, Baltimore, and is a 1937 graduate of Saint Vincent Preparatory School. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Saint Vincent College in 1942, and a master of arts degree from Saint Vincent Seminary in 1944. He also received a master of business administration from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, in 1948, and has done graduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh (1948-1949). In 1948, he became the second priest in the United States to become a certified public accountant.

He entered the Benedictine monastic community of Saint Vincent Archabbey in 1939. He made simple profession of vows on July 2, 1940, and made solemn vows on July 11, 1943. He was ordained a priest in Saint Vincent Archabbey Church by the late Hugh C. Boyle, Bishop of Pittsburgh, on November 4, 1945.

Father Godfrey has served the Archabbey in a variety of administrative positions. At Saint Vincent College he was in charge of the Duplicating Department (1940-1942); Bookstore manager (1942-1944); co-established the first Maintenance Department (1943); accounting instructor (1944-1963); assistant treasurer (1945-1984); chairman of the Business Administration Department (1952-1965); budget director (1956-1984); accounting and finance professor (1963-1984); fiscal manager (1963-1984); professor emeritus (1985-present). He has served on evaluation teams for the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Father Godfrey was also a financial counselor for the American-Cassinese Benedictine Congregation (1956-1994). He has provided accounting and financial services to various institutes in America, Brazil, and Italy, and was a consultant to the Archabbot.

Father Godfrey was a member of the American Institute of Certified Accountants, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Institute of Management Accountants (formerly, National Association of Accountants). He was a past member of the board of Wimmer Corporation, Latrobe, and of Saint Vincent College. He has been awarded the Alumnus of Distinction Award by Saint Vincent College Alumni Association, and an Honorary Membership for forty years of membership in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is the author of the book Accounting for Parishes, and various articles, including “How to Budget for a Small College”, “From Scriptorium to Computer”, and “Does Fund Accounting Have a Future?”

Father Godfrey’s body will be received at the Elizabeth Roderick Center, Saint Vincent Archabbey, on Saturday, January 3, at 3:00 P.M. Viewing will be held in the parlor of the Elizabeth Roderick Center from 3-5 P.M. and 7-9 P.M. Saturday, and 3-5 P.M. Sunday. A wake service will be held in Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica at 7:15 P.M. Sunday after which Father Godfrey’s body will lie in state in the Basilica until 9 P.M. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica on Monday, January 5, at 10:30 A.M.