The people of Utah have lost a good friend in the passing of The Rev. Thomas Meersman, a veteran Catholic priest who died Sunday of an apparent heart attack.
The Rev. Meersman was well known not only among Catholics, whom he served for more than 30 years following his ordination in Rome in 1954, but also among non-Catholics in the state.A man of humor and genuine friendliness, The Rev. Meersman had a knack for building bridges within Utah's diverse religious communities. One of the most apparent was the interdenominational Downtown Devotional Services - an interfaith organization he founded involving Catholics, Jews, Presbyterians and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Non-Catholics also felt his influence through the long-running local television program "From the Cathedral" and his weekly radio program Sunday mornings on KSL radio.
For 25 years he served as chaplain at the Utah State Prison, counseling a number of death-row inmates - his compassion for them undoubtedly heightened by his own experience as a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II.
His sense of humor was always close at hand, such as the time he drew on his long service to the prison to note, "I've spent more time at the prison than most of the inmates."
The Rev. Meersman's dedication to service was also evident in the time he found to serve as chaplain for the Veterans Administration Hospital locally and nationally as chaplain for the Disabled American Veterans.
His exemplary dedication to serving others provides a role model that all professing to be Christians would do well to emulate.
The Rev. Meersman will be missed, not just by Utah's Catholic community, but by all those who had the good fortune to meet and be associated with this unique individual.