Home Obituaries Retired Air Force chaplain Father Dennis G. Volmi dies at 71

Retired Air Force chaplain Father Dennis G. Volmi dies at 71

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Father Dennis G. Volmi

Father Dennis G. Volmi, a priest of the Diocese of Wilmington who spent many years as a military chaplain, died June 28 in Milford, where he lived after retiring from active ministry. He was 71.

A native of Kearny, N.J., Father Volmi grew up in South Bend, Ind., before spending his senior year at Newark High School after moving to Delaware. He also attended the University of Delaware.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 1975 and was assigned to the Catholic University of America, where he earned a licentiate in Canon Law. He completed the requirements for a doctorate in Canon Law at the Lateran University in Rome.

When he returned to Wilmington in 1979, he was assigned to St. Catherine of Siena as an associate pastor. He was there for a year, then spent another year as an associate at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Bear. In 1981, he was appointed judicial vicar for the diocesan Marriage Tribunal.

Father Volmi entered the U.S. Air Force in 1989 and served as a chaplain at Malmstrom Air Base in Montana, Williams Air Base in Phoenix, Lajas Field Air Base in Portugal, Hill Air Base in Utah, and San Vito Air Base in Italy, and Kadena Air Base in Japan. During his time stationed in Italy, he deployed to Bosnia. He also spent time at Dover Air Force Base. He retired from the military in 2009 with the rank of major and returned to Delaware. He assisted at St. John the Apostle Parish in Milford and its mission church, St. Bernadette in Harrington.

He is survived by two sisters, Andrea Jackson and Germaine Chapis, a brother-in-law, niece and nephew.

A viewing will take place July 2 from 5-8 p.m. and July 3 from 10-11 a.m. at St. John the Apostle Church, 506 Seabury Ave., Milford. The Mass of Christian Burial will be at St. John the Apostle on July 3 at 11 a.m., with a reception to follow in the parish hall. Burial with military honors will be in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Dagsboro, on July 6.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Little Sisters of the Poor, 185 Salem Church Road, Newark, DE 19713.