The deaths of the Rev. William Dougherty and the Rev. Gerald Cote have deprived the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson of two priests in just a few days.
On Wednesday, Feb. 24, Dougherty, once the pastor of St. Cyril of Alexandria Church, died at the age of 85.
Then on Saturday, Feb. 27, Cote, 87, also died. Cote served in parishes throughout Southern Arizona and Phoenix for about 60 years, including as pastor at Holy Family Catholic Church, according to the diocese.
In this week's "Monday Memo" newsletter, Bishop Gerald Kicanas mentioned the death of both men, writing that "Father Bill spent his ministry working on behalf of others, even long into his retirement."
Dougherty, a member of the Paulist Fathers, was the last of that order in the Tucson diocese, which he joined in 1986. Most recently, Dougherty served at St. Pius X Catholic Church for more than 10 years.
"His interpretation of the Gospel and his preaching were of the highest degree of spirituality, and yet down to earth and made an impact on people's lives..." said the Rev. Harry Ledwith, the pastor at St. Pius X. "He was like a stand-up comedian. He brought laughter and was hospitable and was just a treasury of jokes."
Dougherty's service will be held at St. Pius X, 1800 N. Camino Pio Decimo, 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 2.
Of Cote, Kicanas wrote of the priest's joyful acceptance of death and his service in the diocese.
Cote "spoke of how his favorite work had been at a poor parish, Holy Family, in downtown Tucson where he and the congregation worked together to bring worship and song together in Mass — times he called the happiest parts of his ministry," Kicanas wrote. "He played the accordion and the harmonica, even several harmonicas at once. His music brought many into the church."
Holy Family Catholic Church, 338 W. University Blvd., will host the visitation at 4 p.m., the rosary at 6 p.m. and the funeral Mass at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 5.
