A funeral Mass for Father John C. Deken was celebrated Nov. 2 at Assumption Church in New Haven. Father Deken, a longtime parish priest and military chaplain, died Oct. 23 at the age of 78.
Born on May 23, 1946, he was the eldest child of Cornelius John and Loretta Frances (McGuire) Deken. He attended St. Louis Preparatory Seminary-South, Cardinal Glennon College and Kenrick Seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of St. Louis on May 20, 1972, by Cardinal John J. Carberry.
Father Deken served as an associate pastor at St. Casimir Parish in Hathaway Manor (1972-75), Christ the King in University City (1975-80) and St. Patrick in University City (1980-81). He also volunteered as a police chaplain, first for St. Louis County and then for University City.
In 1981, he accepted a commission in the United States Army and served as a chaplain at numerous domestic and international duty stations. When he retired from the military in 1997, Father Deken returned to service in the Archdiocese of St. Louis as pastor of Ste. Genevieve Parish in Ste. Genevieve. He also served as administrator of Valle Catholic High School.
He remained in Ste. Genevieve until 2003, when he was named pastor of Assumption Parish in New Haven and St. Paul Parish in Berger. In 2023, he became senior associate at Assumption (which subsumed St. Paul) and St. Francis Borgia in Washington.
In addition to his dedicated life as a pastor, Father Deken took time to provide support and spiritual guidance to organizations such as the American Legion and the Knights of Columbus. He was a fourth-degree member of the Knights.
Burial was at Ste. Genevieve Cemetery in Ste. Genevieve.
