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Deacon William Alvarado, who served at St. Columba’s parish in Hopewell Junction for 42 years, died June 19 at MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie. He was 85.
Deacon Alvarado was at St. Columba from his ordination by Cardinal Terence Cooke in 1980 until his retirement earlier this year. St. Columba was part of St. Denis-St. Columba parish until becoming a separate parish in 1992.
His ministry included visiting patients in Vassar Brothers Hospital, St. Francis Hospital and area nursing homes; serving as a chaplain at Green Haven Prison, Fishkill Correctional Facility, and for the MTA Transit and Police; and teaching religious education classes with his wife, Jean, at St. Columba.
At St. Columba, he also organized the annual Children's Memorial Mass and the annual Divine Mercy celebration; and handled all parish baptismal requests. He was a certified bereavement facilitator.
Born in Brooklyn, he served in the U.S. Air Force as a flight line mechanic and as an umpire in the New York-Penn League before moving to Dutchess County where he worked at IBM for over 30 years and first became a member of the Knights of Columbus in Poughkeepsie.
He and Jean moved to Hopewell Junction in 1970 and became active parishioners of the St. Denis-St. Columba parish. He also served in St. Mary’s Council of the Knights of Columbus, becoming a fourth degree knight in 2011.
His wife of 58 years, Jean, survives him.
A Funeral Mass was celebrated June 24 at St. Columba. Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Colacicco was the principal celebrant and Father Michael McLoughlin, pastor of St. Columba, delivered the homily. Burial with military honors followed in St. Denis Cemetery.
