Father William F. Graney is being remembered as a dedicated pastor whose kindness knew no bounds. Father Graney, 82, died Oct. 24.
He was remembered fondly by parishioners at several of the churches where he served.
“What a wonderful man!” Sheila Meara wrote on the St. Mary Magdalen Parish Facebook page. “His dry humor was always present, he trusted completely, saw the faith in each of us that we didn’t even know we had, and he called us each to serve.”
“He was such a pleasant man and a good preacher. We are blessed to have been in his parish,” Patsy McGurk wrote on a Facebook page for Holy Rosary School alumni.
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, a vigil service will be held at Resurrection Parish in Pike Creek at 3 p.m. followed by a viewing until 6 p.m.
On Wednesday, Nov 4, a viewing will be held at St. Mary Magdalen in Wilmington from 10 a,m, until 11:45. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 12 noon. Interment will immediately follow the Mass in All Saints Cemetery.
A Wilmington native, Father Graney attended St. Elizabeth elementary and high schools before beginning studies for the priesthood. He was ordained in 1971.
His first assignment was as associate pastor at Holy Rosary, Claymont, and he returned to Holy Rosary decades later in a part-time capacity. He also served as an associate at Holy Spirit, New Castle; and Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Paul’s, both in Wilmington. He later became administrator at St. Paul’s.
In 1983, he was named the pastor at St. Mary Magdalen, Wilmington, where he remained until 1997. He transferred to St. Michael the Archangel in Georgetown until 2000, when he became a full-time chaplain at Christiana Hospital. In 2004, he added the title of administrator at Resurrection Parish in Pike Creek and became pastor the next year.
He served at Resurrection until his retirement in 2020, although he returned as administrator for several months in 2022.
Former parish council executive Al Mercatante said of Father Graney in 2018 that the priest was willing to give the laity “the opportunity to roam, to grow, to be called to action — to be the church that Christ expects us to be, outward and inward.”
In addition to his parish ministry, Father Graney was a member of the Priests’ Senate for several years, and from 1977-80 was the Baltimore Province’s representative on the executive board of the National Federation of Priests’ Council.
He was involved with Marriage Encounter, serving as its chaplain and executive team priest. He was once a board member of Pacem in Terris and served as secretary and president of the Northeast Parish, a Claymont ecumenical group. He was also a member of the diocesan Pastoral Commission, Bread for the World, and the National Conference of Catholic Charities. He helped start the diocesan Peace and Justice Commission.
Father Graney was inducted into the St. Elizabeth School hall of fame in 2023.
