✝ ROBERT WICHT SDS
RIP: 13/07/2025 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
He was 86 years old and had been professed for 62 years.
Father Robert David Wicht was born in Milwaukee, on November 15, 1938, one of two sons. He attended St. Elizabeth Grade School, Milwaukee and St. Mary’s Grade School, Oshkosh. Sensing a call to priesthood and religious life, he spent two years at Salvatorian Seminary in St. Nazianz. He finished at Marquette High School, Milwaukee, graduating in 1961. He entered the Salvatorian Novitiate in Colfax, Iowa, and made his profession of vows on September 8, 1962, receiving the name Boniface. He completed his studies at Divine Savior Seminary in Lanham, Maryland, and Catholic University in Washington, DC. At the same time, he taught religious education at St. Matthias Parish, Lanham and Ascension Parish, Bowie. He was ordained a priest in DC on June 4, 1967.
After teaching for two years at Francis Jordan High School, Milwaukee and serving as Adult Religious Education Coordinator at St. Philip Neri Parish, Fr. Bob returned to academic life, eventually earning two Master’s degrees, one in Religious Education (from Catholic University) and another in Special Education (from Loyola College in Baltimore). At the same time, he also served as the Director of Religious Education for three parishes in the Bowie, Maryland, area and later taught at St. John the Baptist School, Silver Spring. In addition, he was the coordinator and supervisor for the Salvatorian seminarians in the DC area. During the summer months he worked as a counselor and Camp Director at Camp St. Charles. From 1974 to 1983, while stepping away from community life and ministry for a while, he taught special education classes in Indian Head, Maryland, then in Ajo, Arizona, and later in Avondale, Arizona.
Fr. Bob returned to community and ministry in 1984, and after a year of studies at the Graduate Theological Union, Oakland, California, he returned to Arizona and taught adult education at the Kino Institute and served as Director of Special Services for Persons with Disabilities for the Diocese of Phoenix until 1988. For the next five years, he ministered in northern California, first as a teacher at Justin Siena High School, Napa and then as a chaplain at the University of California, Davis. From 1993 to 1996, he was Supervisor for the Society’s seminarians studying in Oakland. He was then appointed pastor of the Shrine of St. Rita Parish, Vail, Arizona, until his retirement in 2008.
During his years of teaching and pastoring, Fr. Bob was described as a gifted spiritual advisor and passionate for issues of justice, peace and equality for all people. He authored numerous articles and manuals for teachers in religious education and in special education, and for Catholic spirituality and counseling publications.
Fr. Bob moved back to Napa for his retirement. But previously, in 2004, he was diagnosed with Valley Fever, a fungal infection that can occur in the dry desert areas of the southwest United States. This condition remained with him for the rest of his life, often causing difficulty in breathing, water in his lungs, and other severe respiratory issues requiring treatments and surgery. In 2016, he moved to Milwaukee and lived with other retired Salvatorians at Alexian Village. His health remained fragile. After just a few days of greatly increased weakness, Fr. Bob died peacefully in his sleep on July 13, 2025. He was 86 years of age, professed for 62 years, and a priest for 58 years.
