Father Lawrence Schoettelkotte, SM, died June 28 in Centerville, Ohio. He was 87 years old with 67 years of religious profession.
Father Larry was a cheerful, dedicated Marianist with an easy smile. He spent three decades as a high school teacher, chaplain and guidance counselor. In his later years, he served in parish ministry. Sometimes referred to as “Father Runner” by his friends, Father Larry was an avid runner most of his adult life, typically running for about two hours daily.
Lawrence Albert Schoettelkotte was born on Aug. 17, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was one of four children in the family of Albert and Virginia (Stoeckl) Schoettelkotte. He attended St. John the Evangelist School and Purcell (now Purcell Marian) High School, where he first encountered members of the Society of Mary.
He entered the novitiate at Marcy, New York, and professed first vows there a year later, on Sept. 8, 1958. He studied at the University of Dayton and earned a bachelor of science degree in education in 1961. The first year and a half of his teaching ministry was at Cathedral Latin School in Cleveland, Ohio, where he taught Latin, religion and world history. He professed perpetual vows on Aug. 15, 1962, in Marcy.
Over the next few years, Brother Larry taught at St. James High School in Chester, Pennsylvania, (1963-64) and Chaminade High School (now Chaminade Julienne, 1964-65) in Dayton. As had long been his dream, he entered the Marianist Seminary at Fribourg, Switzerland, in 1966. He earned a bachelor of sacred theology degree from Fribourg University in 1968. He completed his seminary studies in St. Louis and was ordained to the priesthood on Jan. 31, 1970, in Dayton. He was awarded a master’s degree in theology from Saint Louis University later that spring.
For the next nine years, Father Larry ministered as a teacher, coach and chaplain at St. Joseph High School in Cleveland and also served as director of his community there. Beginning in fall 1979, he served at Monsignor Hackett High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he remained until August 1985.
Now 25 years into his ministry, Father Larry had earned a year-long sabbatical, which he spent studying at the Institute for Spirituality and Worship in Berkeley, California.
Beginning in fall 1986, Father Larry was a guidance counselor, LIFE moderator, and director of his community at Memphis Catholic High School in Memphis, Tennessee. He remained there until 1991, when he began a similar ministry at North Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he served for two years.
In 1993, he began serving as associate pastor at St. Catherine of Sienna Parish in Portage, Michigan, where he remained for six years. Now in his 60s, Father Larry then returned home to Cincinnati and began ministry at All Saints Parish, where he became a much-loved figure.
During these years at All Saints, Father Larry also celebrated Mass at neighboring Archbishop Moeller High School from time to time, keeping a happy connection to high school ministry. And while he was no longer running, he kept the goal of walking for two hours every day. In August of 2023, he moved to the St. Leonard Community in Centerville.
