Date of death: 8/1/2015
Saint Meinrad Class: O 1956
The Rev. Joseph P. Jaros, a respected elder among priests of the Catholic Diocese of Toledo who cultivated lasting relationships from the various parishes he served, died Saturday in the Ursuline Center. He was 84.The cause of death was not known, but Father Jaros had been in failing health for about six months, said Msgr. William Kubacki, diocesan vicar general for priests.Father Jaros served at urban and rural parishes in northwest Ohio for nearly 40 years. After retiring in 1996, he continued his ministry as chaplain at ProMedica Toledo Hospital, the Little Sisters of the Poor in Oregon, Lial School in Whitehouse, and the Catholic War Veterans.Msgr. Kubacki said he developed a quick rapport and lasting connections at the various parishes he was assigned.Building relationships was his key word, and that is where he excelled,” Msgr. Kubacki said. “He had good relationships with priests, sisters, and lay people. Everybody was his friend.”Father Jaros was ordained May 26, 1956, at Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral by Bishop George Rehring. His first assignment as associate pastor at St. John the Baptist Church in Point Place, where he served 11 years.Msgr. Kubacki, then a student at the church grade school, said Father Jaros was an influence in his decision to enter the seminary and become a priest.”I can remember him being a part of the whole school setting while I was in grade school,” he said.He was an associate pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Ottoville and St. Charles Borromeo Church in Lima before being named pastor in 1969 at Immaculate Conception Church and St. Stephen Church in Defiance County.In 1971, he went to St. Boniface Church in Oak Harbor and was sent to St. Vincent de Paul Church in Toledo in 1976. He was pastor at St. Mary Church, Assumption, from 1985 to 1990 and associate pastor at St. Charles Borromeo in Lima from 1990 and 1991. His last assignment was at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in East Toledo.He was born on Sept. 29, 1930, to Anna and Joseph Jaros and attended Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church in Rossford with his family. Father Jaros attended Good Shepherd Elementary School in East Toledo before entering St. Meinrad Minor Seminary at age 13.He obtained his theological studies degree at Mount Saint Mary Seminary in Cincinnati.Father Jaros was a judge on the diocesan tribunal, which considers requests for marriage annulment and was dean for the diocesan churches in Fulton County, Williams County, and western Lucas County.Surviving are his brother, James, and sister, Joanne Siefke.”