Obituary of Father Peter Dally

Reverend Peter Dally Roman Catholic Priest Father Peter was born May 14, 1928 to George and Emma Rindisbacher Dally in Freeport, Illinois and passed away due to complications of multiple myeloma July 6, 2007 at home in Olympia, Washington. Father Peter grew up in Glendale, California and received a BA from the U. of Washington in 1950 and a MDv from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley in 1953. He was ordained an Episcopal priest in Corvallis, Oregon in 1953 and served coastal missions including Brookings, Port Orford, Bandon, and Powers. He married the former Mary Lue Vincent at St. Christopher Episcopal Church, Port Orford, Oregon in 1957. He was Rector of the Church of the Epiphany in Chehalis and pastor of Holy Cross Polish National Catholic Church in PeEll from 1959-63, during which time the present facility was built in Chehalis. Father Peter assisted at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Lakewood 1963-64. In 1964 he was assigned Vicar of the Church of the Holy Spirit on Vashon Island. He served as the first chaplain of the Vashon Island Fire Department and was active in many community endeavors, always faithful to the needs of the less fortunate. He founded the Bishop’s Guild for Blind Persons and for eight years ran a sailing camp for blind teen-agers at which the young people learned to sail and water ski. He served four years in the Washington State Guard for the Island Nike missile site. In 1981 Father Peter resigned as an Episcopal priest to enter the Pastoral Provision, a special program under Pope John Paul II, through which Episcopal priests may be ordained Catholic priests and remain married. The family was received into the Catholic Church at St. John Vianney on Vashon Island in 1981. In 1983 Father Peter and Mary moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma where Eusebius Beltran, Bishop of Tulsa ordained him in 1985. Father Peter served St. John Medical Center, Hillcrest Hospital and Regional Medical Center from 1985 – 1987; associate pastor, Holy Family Cathedral, Tulsa, 1987-1991; administrator, Sacred Heart, Skiatook, Oklahoma 1989-98, retiring due to ill health. He also served St. Jude Church, Tulsa and St. Joseph Church, Hominy during 1989-98. During his ministry he was director of the perpetual adoration program, instrumental in initiating and he served as chaplain to the St. Thomas More Society, Catholic Physicians, and the Cathedral Knights of Columbus among other ministries in Tulsa. He was an advocate for Native American culture and needs in Osage County and NE Oklahoma. Throughout his fifty-four year ministry, Father Peter actively promoted understanding and brotherhood among all Christians. He frequently quoted the Biblical admonition: “…that they all may be one that the world might believe…” Father Peter and Mary returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2001 to live in Olympia. In 2001 he was licensed by William Skurla, Ruthenian Bishop of Van Nuys to serve as an Eastern Rite Catholic priest in addition to his Roman Rite faculties. In his retirement he assisted at St. George Byzantine Catholic Church in Olympia. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and The Patriarchal Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem. Father Peter is survived by his wife, Mary, children, John (Sherry), Vashon Island; Monica, Kona, Hawaii; Tess, Homer, Alaska; Kurt, Seeley Lake, Montana; two grandchildren Paul and Caitlin Dally, Vashon Island, and sister, Sister Elsbeth, OCD, Jerusalem, Israel. Father Peter was an accomplished iconographer, landscape artist and enjoyed sailing on Puget Sound and Oklahoma lakes. Father Peter’s family actively supported and participated in his ministry. The Byzantine wake will begin at 7:00 Tuesday, July 10th at St. George Byzantine Catholic Church, 9730 Yelm Highway. Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at 4:00 PM Wednesday, July 11, 2007 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 812 Bowker Street in Lacey. Burial will be at Floras Creek Cemetery, Langlois, Oregon on Friday, July 13th at 10:00 AM. Memorial donations may be made to St. George Byzantine Catholic Church, Olympia or Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Skiatook, Oklahoma. Please leave your online condolences and memories for the family by clicking on "View Guestbook" below.