Father Wayman P. Deasy, MM
Born: September 28, 1932
Ordained: June 13, 1959
Died: October 18, 2016
Father Wayman P. Deasy died on October 18, 2016 at Harlem Hospital in New York, New York. He was 84 years old and a Maryknoll priest for 57 years.
Wayman Peter Deasy was born on September 28, 1932, in Salt Lake City, Utah, son of Joseph and Josephine Jenkinson Deasy. He was the second of three children. Shortly after his birth, his mother returned to Oakland, California where he was raised. Wayman heard about Maryknoll through a missioner who gave a talk at his parish. After finishing grammar school at Our Lady of Lourdes in Oakland, he entered Maryknoll’s Junior Seminary in Mountain View, California in September 1946. He received his B.A. Degree at Maryknoll College Seminary, Glen Ellyn, Illinois and his S.T.B. and M.R.E. Degrees at Maryknoll, New York. He was ordained at Maryknoll, New York on June 13, 1959.
After ordination, Father Deasy was assigned to Tanzania and after language studies, he was assigned to Masonga parish in the Diocese of Musoma, Tanzania where he worked among the Luo people. He also worked as pastor in the parishes of Tatwe, Kowak and Ingri. In January 1976, he was assigned to the Development Department to work in the Houston, Texas office. Father Deasy was the Director of the House in Metairie, Louisiana in 1977, moved to Chicago in 1982, and in 1986, following a Renewal Course at Menlo Park, California, he was assigned to Los Angeles. In September 1988, Father Deasy was appointed Assistant Director of the Development Department and was elected as Chapter Delegate of the U.S. Region’s Group II (Mission Education) to the Ninth General Chapter.
Effective March 1991, Father Deasy was appointed Chief Operations Officer, a position recommended by the Ninth General Chapter. He was re-appointed to this position in February 1994 and again in March 1997. Father Deasy was re-elected a Chapter Delegate to the Tenth General Chapter held in Hong Kong in September 1996. Unfortunately, due to health problems, he was unable to attend. Father Deasy also served as a member of the Committee for Restructuring to which he was appointed in June 1997. In January 2002, Father Deasy was appointed to the position of Assistant Director of the Mission Promotion Department and later in the Mission Education and Promotion Department, where he served as Assistant to the Director.
Father Deasy stressed the importance of mission education in the U. S. Church in order to keep alive the flame of mission in the world today: “Evangelization is the task of every Christian and not just a select group. In the U.S. we tend to become inward looking even though Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI called on all Catholics to become missionaries.”
A Rosary and wake service was held at 4:00 p.m. on October 25, 2016 at Mission St. Teresa’s. The body was received at the Maryknoll Society Center at 9:30 a.m. on October 26, 2016. Father Deasy’s family received condolences and prayers until 10:45 a.m. in the Lady Chapel. The biography was read by Father Edward Davis. Mass of Christian Burial followed at 11:00 a.m. and was concelebrated in Queen of Apostles Chapel. Father Michael Duggan was the Principal Celebrant and homilist. Burial followed in Maryknoll Society Cemetery with Father Russell Feldmeier conducting the graveside service.