JEFFERSON — Fr. John Urban, a retired priest of the Diocese of Madison, died Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017, at the age of 84, at his home in Jefferson while receiving in-home hospice care.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. John the Baptist Church, Jefferson, on Wednesday, Dec. 27, with Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison, as celebrant and Fr. Gary Krahenbuhl as homilist. Burial was in St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Cemetery, Johnson Creek.
Father Urban was born on July 17, 1933 in Fort Atkinson to Florence (O’Connor) and John Urban.
After attending St. John the Baptist Parish School and Jefferson High School in Jefferson, Father Urban entered Queen of Apostles College, Madison. He studied philosophy at St. Francis Seminary, Milwaukee, where he graduated.
He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop William P. O’Connor on May 30, 1959, at St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison.
Father Urban began serving in the Diocese of Madison as parochial vicar of St. Clement Parish, Lancaster; St. Bernard Parish, Middleton; and Our Lady of Assumption Parish, Beloit. He was parochial administrator at St. Thomas Parish, Montfort; St. John Nepomucene Parish, Castle Rock, with mission of St. Lawrence O’Toole Parish, Mt. Hope; and SS. Anthony and Philip Parish, Highland.
He served as pastor of St. Mary Parish, Fennimore; Our Lady of Assumption Parish, Beloit; St. Olaf Parish, DeForest; St. Clement Parish, Lancaster; and Immaculate Conception Parish, Boscobel, linked with St. John Nepomucene Parish, Castle Rock, from which he retired in 2003.
Father Urban served the Diocese of Madison as the area vocation director; a priest counselor of the Catholic Welfare Bureau; advocate and procurator ad litem for the Marriage Tribunal, and a member of both the Diocesan Services Appeal (DSA) Board and St. Raphael Board.
He is survived by sisters Patricia DiDomenico of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Mary (Michel) Kennedy of Lebanon, Tenn.; and Bridgid (Edward) Kasper of Shepherdsville, Ky.; and brothers James (Anita) Urban of Jacksonville, Fla., and Michael (Rena) Urban of Johnson Creek.
He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Kathleen, and brother Joseph.