DETROIT — Everyone knew Fr. Frederick Misiolek was outgoing, friendly and loved to joke; only after he retired did people begin coming forward with stories of how he had quietly helped them in times of need.

“He liked to laugh. He always had a joke ready for us, and was a really good guy,” said Karen Forrest, parish secretary at St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Newport.
“Only later I found out all he did for people, and how he’d go in the middle of the night to anoint somebody,” she said.

Fr. Misiolek achieved senior priest status on July 1, 2010, and retired as pastor of the Newport parish. In November of that year he was diagnosed with the lung cancer from which he died April 17. He was 72.

Karen Watroba, of Woodhaven, a longtime family friend who was Fr. Misiolek’s caregiver during his illness, echoed Forrest’s description: “He was a real jokester; he always had a smile on his face. Even during his illness, he never complained.”

She also cited his readiness to help: “If you needed it, Fr. Fred was always there for you.”
Watroba also recalls him as “a prayerful man, who loved his family and his friends.”
Fr. Misiolek was also an avid fan of the Detroit Red Wings.

Born Nov. 7, 1939, in Detroit to Joseph and Helen Misiolek, he attended St. Hedwig Grade School on the city’s west side and went on to attend the minor seminary of the Conventual Franciscans at Chrystal Lake, Ill. After his high school studies, he went on to attend Our Lady of Carey seminary and College in Carey, Ohio, and then Assumption Seminary in Chaska, Minn.

He was ordained as a priest in the Conventual Franciscan order — under the religious name of Fr. Edgar Misiolek — on March 13, 1965, by Archbishop Leo Binz in the cathedral at St. Paul, Minn., and then returned to Detroit to celebrate his first solemn Mass at St. Hedwig Church.
After a brief assignment at the Conventual Franciscans’ provincialate in Lake Forest, Ill., later in 1965 Fr. Misiolek was named an associate pastor of St. Thomas Parish in Riverside, Calif.

He returned to Detroit to serve as associate pastor of his home parish of St. Hedwig (1966-74); then served for a year at St. Anthony Parish, Rockford.

He came back to Detroit, where he served Our Lady Queen of Angels Parish for 17 years.
Fr. Misiolek left the Conventual Franciscans and chose to go back to his birth name, Frederick. He underwent a three-year process leading up to his incardination into the Archdiocese of Detroit on March 21, 1990, during which time he ministered at St. Joseph Parish, Erie, and St. Isidore Parish, Macomb Township.

After becoming an archdiocesan priest, Fr. Misiolek was pastor of St. Roch Parish, Flat Rock; St. Raphael Parish, Garden City; and St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Newport.

Fr. Misiolek is survived by his siblings, Joanne Brady, Richard Misiolek, Marcie Kimmel, Joanne Goniea, Ronald Misiolek, Donna Inzano, Norbert Dams and Bernie Thomas; as well as by many nieces and nephews.

A funeral Mass was celebrated April 23 at St. Charles Borromeo, Newport, by Archbishop Allen Vigneron. Fr. Victor Roman, his successor as pastor, preached the homily. Burial was in St. Hedwig Cemetery, Dearborn Heights.

Condolences may be sent to Kathy Watroba, 21663 Thornbush Drive, Woodhaven 48183.