Fr. Earl D’Eon, former pastor of St. Clement of Rome Parish in Sun City, died at home in the West Valley retirement community Dec. 2. He was 80.
Fr. D’Eon was ordained to the priesthood on June 3, 1989 for the Diocese of Phoenix. He served four years in the U.S. Air Force in the ’50s and later lent his voice as an established narrator — for productions such as “Annie” and government documentaries.
He became a parishioner of St. Joseph Parish in Williams, Ariz. and a business owner prior to entering the seminary. He told The Catholic Sun shortly before his ordination that his Catholic foundation at a boarding school run by the Fathers of St. John Eudes served him well, enough, “But then I became very worldly and forgot about becoming a priest.”
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Reflections on parish life in Sun City
See what Fr. D’Eon had to say in this archived Associated Press article about Sun City’s unique parish life where every ministry, including altar servers, is fulfilled by adults
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He eventually realized the worldly things didn’t matter because they were temporary. Fellow parishioners saw a vocation in him too and the future priest pursued it.
After ordination, Fr. D’Eon served at Holy Spirit Parish in Tempe, Our Lady of the Desert Mission in Dolan Springs and 10 years at St. Clement of Rome Parish until he retired in 2004. Poor health limited his activity in the latter years, but he still enjoyed living in his home in Sun City. He was seen on Monday trimming bushes in his yard and was said to be in good spirits, according to an email form the Vicar for Priests Office.
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Funeral arrangements
At St. Clement of Rome, 15800 N. Del Webb Blvd. in Sun City (map)
- Visitation: 5-7 p.m. Dec. 9
- Funeral Mass: 10 a.m. Dec. 10
- Burial at Holy Cross Cemetery in Avondale
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