“On one hand, he could be so very forward thinking and progressive and yet, on the other hand, he had a very conservative, pious bent. Perhaps that is what made his message so appealing to so many people from different walks of life,” Bro. Maier said in informing his fellow friars about Fr. Havron’s sudden death on April 27. Fr. Havron was 61.
In his work in the Archdiocese of Detroit, Fr. Havron was the first Franciscan pastor of St. Aloysius Parish in downtown Detroit, and he headed evangelization efforts for the archdiocese.
Bro. Maier said Fr. Havron looked tired Friday morning as he presided at Mass for his fellow friars. “I spoke with him briefly, and he said he was just happy that it was the last day for the retreat at the Mount Saint Joseph Motherhouse for the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. He was looking forward to Sunday when he was to fly home to North Augusta, S.C., for two weeks to visit with and care for his mother,” Bro. Maier recounted.
Fr. Havron then presided at a 10:30 a.m. Mass at the sisters’ motherhouse. After lunch, he was to have personal conferences with two of the sisters before he delivered the final afternoon talk of the retreat.
As the first sister was ready to leave her meeting with him, Fr. Havron “reached over and touched her hand and said, ‘Something is happening to me,’” Bro. Maier said.
As the second sister entered, he collapsed to the floor. Nurses from the convent infirmary and Delhi Township paramedics attempted to resuscitate him, as did emergency room personnel at Mercy, Western Hills Hospital. Doctors said later Fr. Havron had suffered a heart attack.
Cardinal Adam Maida called Fr. Havron “a gifted priest, a great evangelizer, and a person who gave his life in service of God’s poor. He beautifully exemplified the life and spirit of St. Francis in his priestly ministry to God’s people.”
Joanne Adragna, senior program director at St. Aloysius Parish, said Fr. Havron, who started the senior program and the parish’s outreach to the homeless, “was so active as an evangelist, and he lived it.”
“He was a very charismatic person, who drew other people to him. He made everybody feel they were his special friend,” Adragna said.
Catherine Wagner, former director of the archdiocesan Department of Parish Life & Services, said, “Fr. Dan Havron was on fire for the Gospel. He based his life on service to the Gospel. He was quite effective as a preacher and a true man of prayer, He had a real impact in the archdiocese.”
Daniel Michael Havron was born Nov. 3, 1950, in Richland, Wash., to Ronald and Frances (Mocilnikar) Havron. Shortly thereafter the family relocated to the southeastern United States, where he attended elementary and secondary school. He began his preparation for the Franciscan priesthood in 1968 with studies at Duns Scotus College in Southfield.
In August 1970, he entered the novitiate at St. Anthony Friary in Mount Airy, Ohio, near Cincinnati, where he professed his simple vows a year later. He continued his studies at Duns Scotus, and then moved on to St. Leonard College in Centerville, Ohio, where he professed his solemn vows in 1975. He completed his studies in 1977, and on June 11 of that year was ordained a priest by Archbishop Nicholas Elko of Cincinnati.
Fr. Havron also studied at Boston College and Notre Dame University in addition to holding an M.A. in theology from the University of Dayton and an M.A. in journalism from Ball State University in Indiana.
He was first assigned to teach at Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., from 1977 until 1983. He then moved into parish ministry as associate pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in Cincinnati for two years.
In 1985, he began his 21 years of ministry in Metro Detroit, first at Duns Scotus Friary, where he worked in the School of Evangelization. As the friars left Duns Scotus in 1992, the province accepted the care of St. Aloysius Parish in downtown Detroit, and Fr. Havron was named the first Franciscan pastor, serving until 1995. He then worked for the archdiocese as coordinator of evangelization, a position he held until 2006.
He then moved to St. Francis Retreat House in Easton, Pa., where he was retreat director for three years. For the last few years of his life, he was an itinerate preacher for St. Anthony Friary, Mount Airy.
He is survived by his mother; two brothers, Richard and Edward; and a sister, Evelyn Wilson.
A funeral Mass was to be celebrated May 2 at St. Clement Church in St. Bernard, Ohio.
Interment was to take place May 3 in the friars’ plot at St. Mary Cemetery, also in St. Bernard.
Condolences may be sent to the family in care of Evelyn Wilson, P.O. Box 134, Equality, AL 36026.
