Father William A. Beaver, O.S.B., a monk of Saint Vincent Archabbey, died on January 15, 2015. He was born January 28, 1929 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is a son of the late Richard Joseph Beaver and Inez Catherine (Callahan) Beaver. He is one of four children, including Mary Beaver Adlesic, Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, the late Richard Joseph Beaver and Margaret Beaver Spratt.
He was a 1947 graduate of Carrick High School. Following high school he enlisted in the Army Air Force and was sent to Lackland Air Base for basic training. After some time he became a Catholic chaplain’s assistant, where he served for three years. He transferred to Shepherd Air Force where he again was a chaplain’s assistant and began to discern a vocation.
He attended Saint Vincent College; Canada College, California; the College of Notre Dame, California; and the University of San Francisco, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English, with honors, in 1956. He received a master’s degree in education from the University of Chicago in 1961 and a master of divinity degree with highest honors from Saint Vincent Seminary in 1984.
He made simple profession of monastic vows on July 10, 1981 and solemn profession of vows on July 11, 1984. He was ordained a priest on May 25, 1985, by the late Bishop William G. Connare of Greensburg.
He worked in the Archabbey Foreign Mission Office and the Archabbey Public Relations Office (1980-1981); was assistant to the director of financial aid at Saint Vincent College (1981-1984); was parochial vicar at Saint Benedict Parish, Covington, Kentucky (1985-1987); and chaplain of Saint Elizabeth Medical Center, Covington (1986-1987). He then served as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Parish, Jeannette, (1987-1989); as pastor of Our Lady, Queen of Peace Parish, Pittsburgh (1989-1993); and as pastor of Saint Bernard Parish, Hastings, (1993-1996). He then returned to serve as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Jeannette, until 2002. In 2003, he was named senior priest at Sacred Heart Parish, Youngstown, and Saint Cecilia Church, Whitney, where he served until 2007, when he was named senior priest at Saint Peter Parish, North Side, Pittsburgh.
He has also served on the Archabbey Council for Human Resources and was chairman of the Subcommittee on Pastoral and Missionary Apostolates.
Father William was a frequent contributor to the magazine The Priest, writing on such topics as ministry to children and those related to elements of the Mass.
The body of Father William will be received at 11 a.m. Friday, January 23, at the Elizabeth Roderick Center at Saint Vincent Seminary. Visitation will continue until 7 p.m., when the body will be transferred to the Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica for a wake service at 7:15 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki at 10 a.m. Saturday, January 24 in the Basilica. Interment will follow in the Saint Vincent Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Benedictine Health and Welfare Fund, Saint Vincent Archabbey, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Latrobe, PA 15650.
