Scores of parishioners, past and present, fellow clergy, religious and friends gathered to celebrate the life and memory of Father M. Joseph Mokrzycki Jan. 29 in St. Elizabeth Parish, Avon where he served as pastor since 2007.

Some were overcome with emotion at the loss of Father Mokrzycki, 69, who died suddenly Jan. 25.

Many shed tears as they paid their respects at the viewing that followed the Rite of Reception of the Body presided over by Msgr. Eugene M. Rebeck, Episcopal vicar of Monmouth and pastor of St. Catharine Parish, Holmdel.

For Msgr. Kenard J. Tuzeneu, pastor of St. Mary Parish, Barnegat, who presided over the Vigil Prayer Service for the Deceased, and for many at the reception, viewing and vigil, the afternoon and evening were times to celebrate the life of a mentor and friend.

Msgr. Tuzeneu served with Father Mokrzycki as a young priest early in the latter’s 30-year-term as pastor of Star of the Sea parish, Long Branch. He said he was a student at Monmouth College, (now university) Long Branch, when he first met Father Mokrzycki, then Catholic chaplain and considered him a mentor throughout his days in St. Mary Seminary, Baltimore.

He served in Star of the Sea Parish as a transitional deacon and had warm remembrances of his first priestly assignment there after ordination where his main duty was pastoral care at Monmouth Medical Center, on the job training under Father Mokrzcki’s careful gaze.

“I learned a lot from him during that time,” said Msgr. Tuzeneu, who delivered the homily at the Jan. 30 Mass of Christian Burial in Our Lady of Victories Parish (Diocese of Metuchen), Father Mokrzcki’s home parish.

The principal celebrant at the Mass was Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski of the Metuchen Diocese. Bishop John M. Smith was the principal concelebrant.

Msgr. Tuzeneu said he still follows through on many of the traditions Father Mokrzycki implemented at the parish.

“For instance, we have a Christmas open house every year (at Barnegat) which is something that he would always do…He would have parishioners over and they really appreciated that.” Like Msgr. Tuzeneu and many others at the service, Msgr. Rebeck had a long acquaintance with Father Mokrzycki that dated back to their seminary days. He recalled Father Mokrzycki’s deep and abiding faith, his love of family – many of whom were present – his love of music and his keen sense of humor which often surfaced in his homilies.

“He could always make a point in a humorous way,” Msgr. Rebeck said. Indeed, Pat Gately, a member of St. Elizabeth Parish, was one of a number of fellow parishioners and members of Star of the Sea – now part of Christ the King Parish – who looked forward to his incisive homilies.

“We enjoyed his homilies very much,” she said. “They were always to the point and always included gentle jokes. He was a very nice man.”

St. Elizabeth parishioner Bea Murday, considered by many at the parish “Father Mokrzycki’s right hand” wept as she remembered his “kind, gentle, caring ways.”

“He was a wonderful priest,” said Murday, coordinator of religious education at the parish when Father Mokrzycki arrived.

She recalled his love of music, as did many others, noting that he enthusiastically sang part of the Mass and played the drums after the Mass on patriotic holidays such as the Fourth of July, Veterans Day and Memorial Day.

Parishioners from St. Elizabeth and Star of the Sea at Christ the King Parish, where Father Mokrzycki was recalled at the 4 p.m. Jan. 30, Mass, talked about his kindness to children.

Murday noted that he also celebrated the 10 a.m. Children’s Mass at St. Elizabeth where, after Holy Communion, he would give out M&M’s to little ones who weren’t old enough to receive the sacrament.

“He was wonderful,” Murday said. “Just wonderful.”

Paul Lang and Richard Tucker, both first year students in the diocesan diaconate, recalled his fatherly attributes and said that meeting him as pastor of Star of the Sea had been a life-changing event for them.

It was his spiritual nurturing, they said, which inspired them to begin studies for the deaconate. Both first year students in the diocesan program, Lang and Tucker followed Father Mokrzycki to St. Elizabeth when he was appointed there.

“He helped us, he taught us that it’s not about us, it’s about the community,” Lang said.