Walter McNicholas Obituary

Fr. McNich, I was just looking you up for counsel and found your death notice. I was one of your faithful altar boys and enjoyed when you asked me to play tennis with you. Thanks for the patience of trying to volley with me! Thanks for being in the St. Clare parking lot that day in '92 when I skated up to you. You suggested reconciliation and we met in your office the next day. I was always on your side during the Austin HS debacle. I will miss you! Mark Madison

My condolences to the family of Father McNicholas. I first met Father McNicholas in 1959 and was impressed with him the first day I met him. He asked me to consider joining the Order. It was a real honor and privilege to have know him and to have called Father my friend. A really great priest and man! May he rest in peace.
Ted Wiszowaty
St. Michael's in Old Town, Chicago, Illinois

You can't mention St.Rita without mentioning Father McNicholas. He was always doing something and being at activites around the school. Even though you are gone Father McNick your spirit and memory will live on within the hallowed halls of St.Rita and you memory will live on in the people that knew you.

What a wonderful life he led, in the service of others, and what a marvelous example to others in the community. He will be greatly missed. Peggy McNicholas Casey of the Sean-Liam branch of the Mayo McNicholas tribe. Gilman, IL

Fr.McNicholas, what an example for youngins he was. His visits to our home in Detroit were always an event!A vivid memory I have of Fr. Wally is driving down Lakeshore Dr. in Grosse Pointe and catching a glimpse of him walking down the sidewalk on a chilly day, with hands in this coat pockets, in his clerical garb, talking to a high school aged kid (probably listening more than talking). And I thought to myself, there he is, helping another kid get his footing right with the Lord. ...His kindness at my mother's funeral, so many years ago, lingers with me still.....and his natural happy smile!

I always remember Father McNicholas from my days at St. Rita. He was a great person.

A Reminiscence

YES, thou art gone! and never more
Thy sunny smile shall gladden me;
But I may pass the old church door,
And pace the floor that covers thee.

May stand upon the cold, damp stone,
And think that, frozen, lies below
The lightest heart that I have known,
The kindest I shall ever know.

Yet, though I cannot see thee more,
'Tis still a comfort to have seen;
And though thy transient life is o'er,
'Tis sweet to think that thou hast been;

To think a soul so near divine,
Within a form so angel fair,
United to a heart like thine,
Has gladdened once our humble sphere.

By Anne Bronte
The Poetry Foundation

My deepest sympathy to Fr. Tom McCarthy and the Augustinian community on the death of Fr. Wally. He was an inspirational follower of Christ and will be sorely missed. Requiescat in pace.
A death in my family precludes my attendance at the services.

Bro. Tom Mahoney St. Laurence High School

I had the great honor and privelege of meeting Father McNicholas in 1959, He was a truly great man and role model for anyone who had the blessing of knowing him.we used to visit him at the old monastery on Claremont.May he rest in peace.Ted Wiszowaty and Family from St. Michael in Old Town,Chicago.

Fr. McNicholas was truly a part of the St. Rita family. He was a kind and insightful priest. Eternal rest Grant onto him O' Lord and May Perpetual Light Shine Upon Him. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen

Fr. McNicholas was a blessing in my life; a person without whom my life would have been very different. Our talks during that very confusing time of adolescence helped me to take the first steps to shape my adult identity. He fostered my interest in religious life, guided me into the Augustinian Community which helped transform my life and ready me for my journey as an adult. I will always be grateful to him. May he rest in peace.
Dan Offner, San Diego, CA

I remember freshman year at Mendel when he gave an all class vocation talk, maybe at a first Friday mass. I don't remember anything else he said except, "It's not always easy to recognize a call from God, but it didn't take me long to figure out it wasn't dropping shells on enemy ships just over the horizon." I entered the Augustinian seminary a year later.

Fr. McNicholas was a good priest and a kind, wonderful man. We will miss him.

Fr. McNicholas was a great teacher and part of the fabric of St. Rita. He is sorely missed.
John Ahern

Father McNicholas, you were a wonderful and dedicated mentor and teacher. I remember when you came to my father's
funeral. No one more than I knew how much
you really cared about one's future when
it came to education. Thank you