A Knight Has Fallen – May He Rest In Peace
Fr. Rick Heilman | Feb 08, 2012 | Comments 3
Richard Blaney was active in promoting the Rosary, Eucharistic Adoration, teaching the Catholic faith and apologetics, and was instrumental in founding and fostering Perpetual Adoration at his parish church, Holy Redeemer, in Madison. Richard was a Knight in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, and member of Knights of Divine Mercy. (More obituary here)
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at HOLY REDEEMER CATHOLIC CHURCH, 120 W. Johnson Street, Madison, at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, with Monsignor Kevin Holmes presiding. Burial will be at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery. Visitation will be at GUNDERSON FITCHBURG FUNERAL HOME, 2950 Chapel Valley Rd., Fitchburg, from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m., with Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplain at 7:00 p.m., on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012, and also at the church from 9 a.m. until the time of Mass on Friday.
Filed Under: Basic Training • Featured
Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen. The Knights will never forget their fallen comrade, Sir Richard!
As I told my wife, a guy who knew what he was all about and quietly and confidently went about doing it. He was the very embodiment of Acts 10:38: he went about doing good.
Years ago, I met Richard and Margie, and their sons, Michael and Paul, through downtown Madison pro-life work.
Thank you, Margie, and family, for your beautiful words at the end of the obituary. That is who they are. Goodness, meekness, charity, and above all, humility. When he held the apologetics class at Holy Redeemer, they unloaded box after box, on SUNDAY evenings, WEEK AFTER WEEK, of books, tapes, etc., on the Faith, put them out for display, you could buy or borrow, then packed them all up again after class. They gave away rosaries, pamphlets, etc., all the time. Called anytime and asked any question and they would help the best they could. Prayed for my children to come back to the Faith EVERYDAY for YEARS and told me they will come back. He told me he watched EWTN taped shows whenever he got on the trteadmill. He would tape any EWTN show you wanted. When someone bought any item, the money went to more items. Come over to the house and go in the basement and look around at the books, tapes, etc., buy or borrow or just browse, anytime and answer questions on the Faith. He told me about http://www.spiritdaily.com. He served 8 a.m. Saturday Mass at St. Raphael’s and asked Msgr. Swain to bring the bells back at Consecration and Msgr. agreed. The semi-annual rosary processions. At first the all-day Wednesday Adoration at Holy Redeemer, which is where I got to know him better. Then the Perpetual Adoration. If I needed a sub, he would give me names to call until I found someone. He was totally pro-life and supportive of all our events. I will always remember him leading the rosary at 1 South Park during a special rally to stop abortion plans there. There is no way to describe him adequately, but perhaps we could say he lived for Jesus and Mary, and for all of us to do the same. How blessed was I to know the Blaneys? That is indeed an infinite blessing. Let us follow Jesus as he did. I thank and praise God for the Blaneys. Love, Richard’s spiritual daughter