Father Anthony N. Nockunas, MIC 1931-2016 country invaded first by the Russians in 1939, then by the Nazis in 1940, and finally by the Russians in 1944, who not only occupied the country, but initiated a wave of repressions, persecutions and exile. Fr. Anthony escaped the occupation and entered the Marian Congregation. He professed his first vows on August 15, 1950, final vows in 1953, and was ordained a priest in 1957. Father Anthony N. Nockunas, MIC, fortified by the Sacraments of the Church, peacefully passed away February 27, 2016, at the Matulaitis Nursing Home in in Putnam, Conn., in the 85th year of his life, 66th year of his religious profession, and 58th of his priesthood. He was born on June 10, 1931, in Lithuania. He was -one of eight children and grew up on a farm. In his childhood he experienced the Second World War. He saw his https://padrimariani.org/en/2016/02/27/anthony-nockunas-passed-away/ His first assignment was to teach French at the Marianapolis Preparatory School, in Thompson, Conn. Then he spent many years as an associate pastor in Kenosha, Wisc., Plano, Ill. Darien, Ill., Worcester, Mass., and in Argentina. He spent several years at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy, in Stockbridge, Mass., where he celebrated Masses and heard confessions in several languages. Finally, he was assigned to the Marian House in Thompson, Conn., where he continued to hear confessions and offered pastoral care to the sick and the dying. Fr. Anthony served the community in many capacities. Besides his priestly duties, Fr. Anthony was a teacher, a member of the provincial council and its secretary, and, a member of the Board of Directors at the Draugas Lithuanian Catholic Press Society. Fr. Anthony had a great devotion to Our Immaculate Mother and to St. Joseph, the patron saint of a happy death, whom he invoked frequently for the dying. Always attentive to the spiritual needs of the faithful, Fr. Anthony was a generous dispenser of Christ’s love and mercy, especially as a confessor and spiritual guide. The following is an interview Fr. Nockunas gave to Dan Valenti in 2009 on St. Joseph: Salute to a ‘Silent Saint’, for whom Fr. Nockunas had a particular devotion. How did your devotion to St. Joseph begin? As a boy, but my devotion to Mary was stronger. I grew up on a farm in Lithuania, one of eight children. I didn't have specific ideas about religious life, but the Lord had a plan. My mother was a devout Catholic, more than my father, who had to work the farm. Lithuania suffered from great atrocities. The Russians occupied the country until the Germans invaded in 1940 and threw the Communists out in 1944, the Russians drove out Germany. I witnessed gunfire between the two armies in a battle near our farm. The Germans used the farm as a field hospital. proverbial wise elder who has used his varied life experiences for the good of God and to serve man. Father Anthony ("Tony") Nockunas, MIC, has been a member of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception since 1949. Father Tony, 80, has served the Marians in many assignments over the years. Presently, he lives and works on Eden Hill, where he ministers to pilgrims. Father Tony is the
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