Father Theodore Gustin

Father Theodore F. Gustin died on December 27, 2006, at St. Vincent's Care Center in Bismarck. He was 75 years of age. A funeral mass will be held on Tuesday, January 2, 2007, at 12:00 Noon at Church of St. Mary in Bismarck with Bishop Paul A. Zipfel officiating. Visitation will be Monday, January 1, 2007, from 5:00 - 9:00 PM at Church of St. Mary where a vigil service will be held at 7:00 PM. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church. Father Gustin was born on December 4, 1931, at Flasher, North Dakota, the son of Fred and Katherine Eckroth Gustin. He was raised in Flasher where he attended grade school for seven years and high school for one year. He attended three years of high school and two years of college at Crosier Seminary in Onamia, Minnesota. He attended St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, from 1949-1951 and St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minneosta, from 1951-1957. He received a B.A. degree in philosophy from St. Paul Seminary in 1953. Father Gustin was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Bismarck at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Bismarck on June 2, 1957, by the Most Reverend Hilary B. Hacker. Father Gustin's first assignment in the Diocese of Bismarck was an assistant pastor at the Church of St. Joseph in Mandan from 1957-1963. He then became a Tribunal student at the Boston Chancery in Boston, Massachusetts, from October 1963 to June 1964. Father Gustin was appointed pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart in Wilton, and its mission, the Church of St. Ignatius in Wing from 1964-1974. He was appointed Vice Officialis for Diocese of Bismarck Tribunal and served in that capacity from August 1964 to August 1978. Father Gustin was appointed assistant pastor at the Church of St. Mary in Bismarck from 1974-1981 and in August of 1978, was appointed Officialis for the Diocese of Bismarck and served as Officialis until July 1985. In September 1981, he was appointed pastor at the Church of St. Mary in Bismarck until 1988. He then took a sabbatical at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, for three months. He was appointed interim director for the Propagation of Faith from December 1988 to July 1989. He served as parish administrator of the Church of St. Vincent de Paul in Crown Butte from January to April of 1989, and as assistant to the director for the Office of Vocations from December 1988 to July 1989. He also served as acting Judicial Vicar for the Tribunal from January to April 1989, and as Vicar for the Permanent Diaconate from July 1989 to July 1999. In July of 1989, Father Gustin was appointed pastor of the Church of St. Henry in Regent where he served until June 1990. He served as Judicial Vicar for the Tribunal from November 1990 to July 1992. He was appointed pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart in Wilton and its missions, the Church of St. Ignatius in Wing, and the Church of St. Edwin in Washburn in June 1990 where he served until January 2000. Father Gustin retired and moved to Emmaus Place in Bismarck in January of 2000. He lived at Emmaus Place until he moved to St. Vincent's Care Center. Father Gustin is survived by his sisters, Rose Uhlman of Nevada, Anne Stack of Wyoming, Blondina Pfau of Wyoming, and Pat Heard of Texas; his brother, Al Gustin of California; his sister-in-law, Polly Gustin of Bismarck; and numerous neices and nephews. His parents; his sisters, Ida Mullins, Margaret Wingerter, Pauline Laney, and Agnes Martin; and his brothers, Leo and Albert, preceded him in death.

Father Theodore Gustin

December 4, 1931 - December 27, 2006