By Maria Foss | On Mission
GREEN BAY — Fr. Paul E. DuCharme, the most senior priest in the Diocese of Green Bay, died on Feb. 23, 2025. He was 97.
Born in Green Bay, Fr. DuCharme attended Central Catholic High School in Green Bay (now Notre Dame Academy) and St. Norbert College in De Pere.
He served in the U.S. Navy from June 1945 through August 1946.
Fr. DuCharme earned a degree in philosophy and theology at St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., and was ordained on June 4, 1955, by Bishop Stanislaus V. Bona at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral.
He served his first appointment at St. Mary Parish Oshkosh, until he was appointed chaplain of Wisconsin State Reformatory in Green Bay (now Green Bay Correctional Institution) in 1961.
In 1986, Fr. Ducharme began assisting at St. Patrick Parish, Stephensville, while continuing his work as chaplain of the reformatory. He was appointed associate Pastor of St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Green Bay in 1989. He retired in 1998.
During his retirement, he continued celebrating Mass at Bishop’s Court, Mason Manor, Badger Terrace, Villa West, and St. Agnes and SS. Peter and Paul Family Prayer Nights.
Fr. DuCharme also ministered to the sick at McCormick Assisted Living, where he lived in retirement, and volunteered at St. Vincent de Paul and HSHS St. Vincent Hospital and Bellin Hospital.
A memorial Mass will be offered at the McCormick Assisted Living chapel, 212 Iroquois Ave., Green Bay, on Monday, March 3, at 9:30 a.m. with Fr. Willard Van De Loo as the homilist. A private burial will follow at Allouez Catholic Cemetery.
Maria Foss is marketing coordinator for the Office of Communications and Marketing for the Diocese of Green Bay.