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Home:TKE News:Well-beloved Frater, Fr. Tim Vakoc Passes Away

06/22/2009 - Well-beloved Frater, Fr. Tim Vakoc Passes Away

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn - Five years after being gravely wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq, the Rev. Frater Tim Vakoc (Theta-Rho Chapter, St. Cloud State University), a well-known and much-loved Roman Catholic priest from Minnesota, has died, his family said Sunday.

Frater Vakoc, 49, who most recently had been living at St. Therese Care Center in New Hope, died about 8 p.m. Saturday after being taken to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, said Barb Rode, president and CEO of St. Therese.

Many were inspired by Frater Tim's amazing determination and effort to battle back from his debilitating injuries. Father Tim, as he was known, was the first military chaplain grievously wounded in the Iraq war. He was injured by a roadside bomb as he was returning from celebrating mass with troops on May 29, 2004, the day before the 12th anniversary of his ordination as a priest. The blast cost him an eye and severely damaged his brain. He was hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and transferred to the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center in October 2004. After numerous surgeries and life-threatening infections, he slowly started to recognize friends and family, and to communicate with a squeeze of the hand or a slight smile.

The Fraters at Theta-Rho visited with Father Tim on several occasions and commented on how much they enjoyed just being around the positive energy he gave them. Though he could not verbalize with his fellow Fraters, each one said his eyes told them how much it meant to see them all and his handshake with ceremonial grip said enough.

Vakoc died surrounded by family and friends, according to an entry on his CaringBridge website.

"A man of peace, he chose to endure the horror of war in order to bring the peace of Christ to America's fighting men and women," Archbishop John Nienstedt wrote in a prepared statement. "He has been an inspiration to us all, and we will miss him."

Frater Tim's memory lives on through the heart's of all the lives he touched in the military and in the TKE Nation. The Theta-Rho Chapter established a scholarship in his honor a few years ago to ensure his legacy would be cemented for years to come. To learn more about this and more opportunities through the TKE Educational Foundation, click here.

Frater Tim was a regular donor to the TKE Educational Foundation, recipient of the Teke Alumnus of the Year Award (2006) and Knights of the North (2006).

The Offices of the Grand Chapter extend our condolences to the friends, family, members of the Theta-Rho Chapter, and all of the TKE Nation during this difficult time of mourning. We have lost a very dear member, but know Frater Tim is now in a more peaceful place.