Brother
Brother Xavier Gedeon, OFM
d. April 23, 2017
Brother Xavier Gedeon, OFM, whose maintenance skills were a valuable ministry to the Franciscan friars, died early April 23, 2017 at St. Margaret Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio. Paul Philip was one of four children born to Emil and Pauline (Annesser) Gedeon in Cleveland, Ohio. In the armed forces, Paul served as an air traffic controller in the Aleutian Islands during WWII. After the war, while working in a photography shop Paul met Bob Hope who came to the shop as a customer. Accepted into the Franciscan (Hungarian) Custody of St. John Capistran on April 24, 1964, he received the religious name Xavier. He pronounced his solemn vows with the friars in 1970 after transferring to the Custody of the Most Holy Savior in Pittsburgh. He leaves a living memorial in the stately pine trees lining the entrance drive of St. Francis Retreat House in Easton, Penn., where he worked in grounds and building maintenance. “On loan” to the Immaculate Conception Province as a missionary in Central America, Xavier’s time was cut short due to malaria. In 1979 Xavier began working in the St. John the Baptist Province at Jemez Pueblo and officially transferred membership in 1980. Serving as a member of the Brothers’ Work Crew Xavier brought his maintenance skills to St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Lafayette, La., St. Mary of the Angels in New Orleans, St. Clement Friary in Cincinnati, St. Anthony Friary in Cincinnati, and Duns Scotus College in Southfield, Mich. Xavier’s last official ministry was at St. Mary of Lourdes Friary in Metamora, Ill. He retired to St. Clement Friary in Cincinnati in 2014, moving to St. Margaret Hall in 2016 for medical assistance. Xavier was preceded in death by his parents, his sisters Margaret De John and Carolyn Gedeon and his brother Fr. Thomas, SJ. Xavier’s body will be received at St. Margaret Hall Chapel, Cincinnati, Oh. Wednesday April 26, at 10:00 a.m. with the Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow immediately after the Mass in the friars’ plot at St. Mary Cemetery in St. Bernard, Oh. Memorials may be made to FriarWorks, 1615 Vine St., Cincinnati, OH 45202.
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