June 28, 2011

A Mass of Christian Burial for Father Louis Guntzelman was celebrated June 24 at St. Cecilia Parish in Oakley. Auxiliary Bishop Joseph R. Binzer presided.  Father Guntzelman, 79, died June 20 after a long battle with cancer.

Father Louis Guntzelman

A Cincinnati native, Father Guntzelman did his preparatory studies at St. Gregory Seminary and studied theology and philosophy at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 1957, at then-St. Monica Cathedral by Archbishop Karl J. Alter.

Father Guntzelman’s first assignment was as assistant pastor at St. John the Evangelist Church in Deer Park and to the faculty at the former Purcell High School in Cincinnati. In August 1962 he was appointed assistant at All Saints Church in Kenwood, while continuing at Purcell High School. In June 1963 Father Guntzelman was appointed assistant at Incarnation Church in Centerville, and part-time teacher at Archbishop Alter High School in Dayton. While continuing at Alter High School, he served as temporary assistant at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Dayton; assistant at Corpus Christi Church in Dayton; and pastoral minister to patients at Grandview Hospital in Dayton.

He was appointed as a full-time teacher at Alter High School in 1968; director of the Dayton Family Life Bureau in December 1969; and to the faculty of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in 1972. From 1972 through 1981, while continuing at the seminary, he was assigned to weekend and holy day help at St. Gabriel Church in Glendale; Our Lady of Visitation Church in Mack; St. Susanna Church in Mason; and the former St. Mary Church in Hamilton. On July 1, 1981, Father Guntzelman was appointed associate at Good Shepherd Church in Montgomery. He was appointed pastor in 1982, and he served there until 1994.

During his years of ministry Father Guntzelman also served as assistant diocesan master of ceremonies for those events involving the seminary or seminarians; was appointed temporary administrator of St. Rita Parish in Dayton; wrote many columns for community newspapers; and aired in many slots on broadcast radio. He retired in September 2001.

Father Guntzelman is survived by his sisters, Mary Ellen Guntzelman and Joan Guntzelman, and brother, Raymond. Interment was in Gate of Heaven Cemetery.