Father James "Father Jim" Plough
Obituaries
Daily Sentinel page 3D - June 14, 2020
Fr. James Plough
January 2, 1933 - June 6, 2020
Fr. James Plough, retired
Pastor Emeritus of Immaculate
Heart of Mary Catholic Church,
died on June 6, 2020, at Hospice
at the age of 87 after a brief
illness.
Fr. Jim was born on January 2,
1933, in Puyallup, Washington,
but his family moved home to
Thief River Falls, Minnesota,
when he was three months old.
His parents were humble people with the love for their children
profound. This love for others became one of Fr. Jim’s shining
attributes.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Esther and Samuel
Plough; older brother, Robert, and sister, Christina. Along with
Robert’s wife, Irene, Fr. Jim is survived by nephew, Kevin (Martha),
and niece, Laura, all in Seattle, Washington.
Fr. Jim expressed his desire to become a priest at an early age
and his parish priest organized a scholarship for him to attend the
seminary at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio,
where he studied for 12 years and was ordained as a priest of the
Roman Catholic Church at age 25. Fr. Jim and some other newly
ordained priests were asked to consider teaching at the college
and in preparation Fr. Jim spent several years at the University of
Notre Dame where he achieved a doctorate in American Religious
History. His dissertation focused on Catholic Colleges and the
National Catholic Education association (NCEA), which was a
new organization at the time. These years at Notre Dame were a
treasured time for him and with this superb preparation, Fr. Jim
taught history and scripture at the seminary for 25 years.
In the 1960s and early 1970s our country experienced much
turmoil, which the student body exhibited in their sometimes lack
of dedication to learning. This made teaching more difficult, so in
1974 Fr. Jim began to feel burnout. A classmate, Fr. Erv Schmitt,
who was serving in the Diocese of Pueblo, suggested taking a
sabbatical in Colorado. This appealed to Fr. Jim and he served at a
parish in Durango and as Chaplain at Fort Lewis College for one
year. After teaching again at Josephinum for a few years he decided
that institutional living had lost its appeal and he began serving on
weekends at parishes in Columbus, where he was able to live in a
parish rectory.
In 1978 Fr. Jim began his service as a parish priest in the Diocese
of Pueblo under Bishop Buswell. There he served in a variety of
parishes for six years until Josephinum asked him to return to the
faculty. The student body was now more devoted to learning than
earlier and he asked Bishop Tafoya, who succeeded the now retired
Bishop Buswell, for permission to return to the seminary faculty.
Bishop Tafoya granted him five years after which he had to return to
the diocese. There were three seminaries and Ohio State University
all in the same vicinity that were sharing students, and this made
the teaching experience more exhilarating once again for Fr. Jim.
In 1989 he returned to the Diocese of Pueblo and was made pastor
of Immaculate Heart of Mary parish (IHM), where he served for 14
years. During this time he helped construct a new church building
about a mile north of the old site that was across from St. Mary’s
Hospital. Fr. Jim was known for his memorable quality sermons
that incorporated stories that were down to earth, and that people
could remember better than if he spoke theology. He developed
an organization of lay parish leadership that enabled the parish to
flourish and he also mentored many young assistants.
Upon reaching the normal retirement age of 65, Fr. Jim asked for
permission to remain as pastor for five more years and he retired in
2003 at age 70. Retirement brought with it a search for a new way
to use his relational talents and discovered that St. Mary’s Hospital
needed a chaplain, so he served in that position for 16 years. With
more leisure time after retiring he decided to publish a collection of
his homilies which he called “Plough Shares” with the sixth and last
one published shortly before his death. Clearly his talent to teach
and share his love through teaching, whether in a university, in a
parish or as chaplain, truly enriched our community. When seeking
his advice or counsel he had a reputation for perceptive listening
and questioning to reach the depths of what one was seeking.
With more time on his hands to enjoy reading he had a continuing
desire to buy and read quality books mostly on spirituality and
theology, so he could translate what he read into lovely stories for
his homilies. Many of these books found their way into the IHM
library. During all of his time serving our community he had been
in many roles: priest, pastor, confessor, friend (cherished friend),
listener, teacher, leader, brother, and comedian (he had a great sense
of humor). A small group of his many friends knew him in other
ways, as well, through his participation in a weekly book club and
in a monthly poetry group, both of which enjoyed his intelligence,
his wit, and especially his love.
Still another important role that he played was as a member of the
board of Grand Valley Catholic Outreach where he influenced that
wonderful organization with his love, as well as his management
skills, for many years. The many people who interacted with him
over the years through his many roles will remember him in their
own way and will always cherish that loving memory.
All the above being said, who really was this beautiful person
who loved everyone and whom everyone loved? This man was the
one who personified what Jesus told his disciples “Love one another
as I have loved you”. His ability to relate to everyone he met and to
make them feel that they were especially important, that they had
value, that they were lovable, and that he loved them, was a rare
talent that so many were able to experience. When he looked back
on his life, he always said that he was blessed, but it was his people
who were blessed by his love for them.
Special thanks to the Visiting Angels Homecare and HopeWest
Hospice.
Visitation 3 - 8:00 p.m., June 19, 2020, at Immaculate Heart of
Mary Church. His funeral service will be announce
