Father Logan

ROCK ISLAND — A Mass of Christian Burial was offered Feb. 15 at Sacred Heart Church here for Father Johnjoseph DePorres “Jerry” Logan, administrator of Sacred Heart and St. Mary parishes in Rock Island.

Father Logan, whose 37 years of priestly life included service at all Rock Island parishes as well as periods as pastor of faith communities in Silvis, Peoria, Annawan, Hooppole and Sheffield, died on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City after a brief illness. He was 69.

Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, was principal celebrant of the funeral Mass, which drew nearly 700 people, many of whom stood in the aisles or the vestibule. The homilist was Father Michael Schaab.

“Through everything, Father Logan resolved always to be a dedicated priest and a kind human being,” said Father Schaab. “He was dedicated to prayer, to healing (both body and soul), to the sacredness of all life, to ministry, to his family, to his friends, to Mary the Mother of God, to Christ in the Eucharist and to all who came to him in need. With Father Logan, the last were always first.”

Click here for the full text of Father Schaab’s homily.

ROCK ISLAND NATIVE

Born Jan. 22, 1947, in Rock Island to Donald and Marilyn Logan, Father Logan was a graduate of Alleman High School. After three semesters at Loyola University in Chicago, he transferred to Immaculate Conception Seminary in Missouri, later completing his preparation for the priesthood at Moreau Seminary at the University of Notre Dame.

He was ordained on May 26, 1979, by Bishop Edward W. O’Rourke at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria.

Following ordination, Father Logan served as parochial vicar at St. Columba Parish in Ottawa from 1979 to 1981 and at St. Mary, East Moline, from 1981 to 1987. After a year as chaplain at Misericordia Homes and Heart of Mercy Village in Chicago, Father Logan returned to the Peoria diocese to serve briefly as a part-time assistant at St. Columba, Ottawa, before becoming pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Rock Island in 1988. He would serve there for 11 years.

From 1999 to 2007, Father Logan was pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Silvis, where a holy hour in his memory was observed on Feb. 12. He served briefly as pastor of St. Peter Parish in Peoria and later Sacred Heart, Annawan, St. Mary, Hooppole, and St. Patrick Sheffield. He was parochial vicar at St. Pius X Parish in Rock Island from 2011 until his appointment to St. Mary and Sacred Heart parishes in Rock Island in 2013.

In a 2004 interview with The Catholic Post on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his ordination, Father Logan said the most satisfying aspects of his priesthood included offering Mass and the sacrament of reconciliation.

“There is a lot of educating that a priest does, but the people are also great educators of the priests,” he said.

Father Logan was the chaplain of A Call to Catholic Men of Faith, commonly known as the men’s march, a grassroots gathering of hundreds of Catholic men in downtown Peoria that has taken place annually since 2004.

Survivors include his brothers and sister, Patrick Logan (Rita Coyne), Moline; William Logan, Moline; James G. (Arlyce) Logan, Moline; Kathleen Logan, Moline; and Thomas (Vicki) Logan, Macomb, Michigan; nephews and nieces as well as great-nieces and great-nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Timothy Logan.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Women’s Choice Center, Bettendorf, Iowa, or to Sacred Heart Food Pantry, Rock Island.