Rev. James H. Conrad, S.T.L., 72, passed away on Oct. 28, 2010, at Memorial Medical Center after a long battle with cancer.
Born April 25, 1938, at Altoona Mercy Hospital, a son of the late Hugh B. Sr. and Mary (Finley) Conrad. Preceded in death by parents and sister, Patricia Conrad Moraski. Survived by brother, Hugh Jr.; sister, Mary Kay Strauss; brother-in-law Paul Strauss; nephews, Roger E. (Dawn) Moraski Jr. and Sean Conrad Strauss; and nieces, Tammy Strauss (Tim) Reedy, Tiffany Strauss Quick, Tonya Strauss (Ben) Swim, Mary Kathryn Strauss, and Paulette Strauss (Pete) Szurek. He is also survived by 12 grand nieces and nephews. Father also has special relatives in Francis and Dorothy Mae Conrad and family, Grace Farren and family, and the Rittner family.
Father attended St. Francis College in Loretto for two years before entering St. Mary's College and Seminary in Baltimore. He received a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree in philosophy, a Bachelor's in Sacred Theology (S.T.B.) and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.), all from St. Mary's. Father was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest on May 23, 1964, by the Most Rev. J. Carroll McCormick, D.D., Bishop of the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese, at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Altoona. He served as a pastor of the Most Holy Redeemer parish, Revloc; St. John the Evangelist, Bellefonte; Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Windber; and Sts. Timothy and Mark, Twin Rocks and Vintondale. Father also served as an assistant pastor at Our Lady of Victory, State College; Holy Name, Ebensburg; and St. Aloysius, Cresson. Father served as a Roman Catholic priest for more than 46 years, and he retired from the active priesthood and became a senior priest on July 21, 2010. In 2009, Father received the Prince Gallitzin Cross from Bishop Joseph V. Adamec.
Father Conrad was a strong proponent of Catholic education. He taught classes in scripture in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese diaconate-formation program. Father also served as a teacher, athletic director, and assistant principal at Bishop Carroll over a period of 14 years.
Friends will be received from 2-4 and 6-9 p.m., Sunday, at the Askew-Houser Funeral Homes, Inc., Ebensburg, where a Vigil Service will be held at 7 p.m., Sunday evening, Rev. Msgr. Timothy Swope. Father's body will be transferred to Our Lady of the Alleghenies Church in Lilly on Monday morning, with viewing there from 9 a.m. until the time of Funeral mass at 11 a.m., Monday, the Most. Rev. Bishop Joseph V. Adamec, celebrant. Committal at St. Brigid's Cemetery, Lilly. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts be made in Father's name to either Bishop Carroll High School in Ebensburg or to the Lilly-Washington War Memorial Association, Lilly, PA 15938.