During this past “Year for Priests,” I wanted to tell your readers about the kindness of one priest in the Diocese of Davenport. Father Karl Holtkamp, now deceased, was serving St. Mary’s Parish in Fairfield in 1976.
It was a very cold winter. Our daughter was being married and it happened that an uncle’s funeral was the same day in Newton. My mother, who lived in Newton, wanted to attend both functions, so we said we would attend the funeral and then bring her to Fairfield for the wedding.
At the rehearsal dinner the night before, Fr. Holtkamp overheard us talking about the heater in our car being broken and so he said, “Take my car to Newton tomorrow.” We did accept his generosity and it made the trip and the experience of a funeral and a wedding on the same day much easier.
Thank you, Fr. Karl Holtkamp. May you rest in peace.
Caroline Kilbourn
St. Alphonsus Parish, Mount Pleasant
