Richard Joseph Tulko, O.F.M.

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Our brother,  Richard Joseph Tulko, OFM, peacefully passed away in his sleep on Aug. 30, 2024 at Milwaukee’s Catholic Home.

Br. Richard was born June 6, 1937, to Joseph and Helen (Krupienczyk) Tulko in Brooklyn, New York. He received all three sacraments of initiation at Our Lady of Consolation Parish, where he also attended primary school. After eighth grade, he attended Padua Prep School in Watkins Glenn, New York, from 1951 to 1955, which was staffed by the friars of the former Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Province.

Responding to a call to religious life as a Franciscan, Br. Richard traveled to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, to begin his novitiate, making his simple profession on Aug. 15, 1956 and his solemn profession on Aug. 15, 1959. He was ordained a priest on June 13, 1964.

Br. Richard’s service to his Franciscan brothers and the people of God was extensive. From 1965 to 1971, he worked at Franciscan Publishers in Pulaski, Wisconsin and was editor of Franciscan Message and The Chronicle from 1968 to 1971. In late summer of 1971, he was transferred to St. Bonaventure Prep School in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, where he served the friars at St. Joseph Friary and in the school’s guidance department.

Br. Richard then served as guardian of Queen of Peace Friary in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and as an assistant librarian of the Provincial Depository Library. He was known for his gregarious personality, welcoming friars from all over the world who visited the library. Kind, attentive, generous, and quick-witted, his responses often began with, “Well, you know…”

Following his time at Lake Geneva, Br. Richard was involved in retreat work at St. Francis Retreat Center in Burlington, Wisconsin (1978-1980); hospital chaplaincy at St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin (1980-1983); and pastoral ministry at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish and Friary in Saginaw, Michigan (1983-1984).

Br. Richard returned to Pulaski in 1984, serving as assistant provincial secretary and later full-time secretary from 1986 to 1999. During this time, he was also the director of candidates in Pulaski (1994-1999).

In 2000, following a well-deserved sabbatical, he joined the pastoral ministry at St. Martha Parish in Philadelphia for two years. He returned to Pulaski to serve as guardian in 2002, and in 2005, he served as guardian of St. Mary of the Angels in Green Bay and managed the original Franciscan Store until 2008.

Serving once again as provincial secretary from 2008 to 2011, Br. Richard joined the friars in a new ministry at Viterbo College in La Crosse, Wisconsin, acting as the community’s first guardian and chaplain to the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

In 2020, due to health issues, Br. Richard moved to Queen of Peace Friary in Burlington, Wisconsin, where the friars remain engaged in the ministry of prayer and other activities as their health allows.

Our brother faithfully lived and served our brotherhood for 68 years and served the people of God as a priest for 60 years. He witnessed and experienced the changes of Vatican II, the dissolution of his beloved province, and the formation of the new Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He was known for his quick wit and a love of reading on subjects ranging from history to theology.

While celebrating his 60th year as an ordained friar, Br. Richard reflected with gratitude on his ministry, saying:

“In my almost 70 years as a friar, it has been my privilege and honor to serve as guardian, secretary of the ABVM Province, parish associate, and chaplain to the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration... I can only sing the praises of the Lord who has allowed me to minister, love and serve so many wonderful friars and people of God. For all that has been, thanksgiving. For all that will be – deo gratias!”

Br. Richard was preceded in death by his parents, Jospeh and Helen Tulko and his three brothers, Fr. John Tulko OFM, Thomas Tulko and Anhtony Tulko. He is survived by family members, friends and friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Visitation will be held for Br. Richard on Thursday, September 5, 2024, from 9:30am until the time of Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00am, all at the Franciscan Queen of Peace Friary, 2281 Browns Lake Drive, Burlington, Wisconsin 53105. Interment will be at Provincial Cemetery in Pulaski, Wisconsin.

May he rest in peace.

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