Rev. Kenneth John Decker C.S.B.

Peacefully with his fellow Basilian Fathers at Anglin House on Monday, November 30, 2015 after a fairly lengthy struggle with cancer. Fr. Ken was born in Detroit MI on October 20, 1938, and is predeceased by his parents Edmund Decker and Agnes Samida as well as his brothers Edmund Jr. and Gerald. After graduating from Catholic Central High School in Detroit in 1956, he was professed in the Congregation of St. Basil on August 15, 1957, obtained a BSc in 1961 and was ordained December 9, 1967. He taught in Basilian high schools in Detroit MI, Merrillville IN and Houston TX for 16 years before taking on the important role in 1981 as rector of the Basilian seminary for six years. He was a steadying influence in those tumultuous times. Then, after serving in parishes for nine years, he was elected to the General Council of the Congregation of St. Basil as Vicar General in 1997 and in 2002 as Superior General until 2010. Fr. Ken took time to relax in his 19 years of stressful service of the Basilian community by woodworking in his fully equipped shop. After about three years as pastor of St. Basil’s Church in Toronto, he came to Anglin House where his health issues could be addressed in 2014. He is missed by his fellow Basilians, whom he served so well, and by his sisters Betty Glaza, Elaine Musthaler and Kathleen Drost. There will be visitation at 6:30 PM followed by a wake service at 7:30 PM, Thursday, December 3, 2015 in the Chapel of the Cardinal Flahiff Basilian Centre, 95 St. Joseph Street, Toronto. At St. Basil’s Church, 50 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, there will be visitation at 9 AM Friday, December 4, 2015 followed by the 10 AM Funeral Mass. Burial will be at the Basilian plot at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Thornhill, ON. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Basilian Fathers’ Retirement Fund, 95 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3C2.