Jesuit Father Edward Sthokal, who served for decades at Demontreville Jesuit Retreat House in Lake Elmo, died Aug. 11 at St. Camillus Jesuit Community in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He was 98.

Father Ed Sthokal

A native of Milwaukee, Father Sthokal was ordained June 16, 1954, and pronounced his final vows Aug. 15, 1958. He served as an associate pastor and as a teacher at a Jesuit high school in Wisconsin before moving to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Father Sthokal arrived at the Demontreville Jesuit Retreat House in Lake Elmo in 1958, served as its director for more than 20 years and retired there in November 2017. Through his work and that of the many Jesuits he recruited to offer weekend retreats at Demontreville, thousands of Catholic men from the Twin Cities area participated in the retreat center’s experiences.

Deacon Stephen Boatwright, who serves at St. Joseph in Rosemount and as a chaplain at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, said he met Father Sthokal at the first Demontreville retreat he attended in 1988. He continues to participate once a year and became friends with Father Sthokal. “I used to call him ‘Mr. Demontreville,’” he said.

Among his memories, what stands out is Father Sthokal’s “high-level humor.”

Father Sthokal would review the house rules on a retreat’s opening night and offer ideas for making it a better experience, Deacon Boatwright said. “We usually have a wide variety of ages among the retreatants — from 20 to 90,” he said. “Father Sthokol would often quip that ‘Some of you may be studying for your final exam.’”

Deacon Boatwright also recalled retreat house staff focusing on retreatants’ dietary needs, especially those with diabetes.

“Father Sthokal told us that the retreat center would provide for our dietary needs,” Deacon Boatwright said. “In the next breath, he warned us not to ask for Lobster Thermidor or Lobster Newburg, because it wasn’t going to happen.

“Father is a true icon,” he said.

According to the obituary written by his Jesuit community, Father Sthokal was a man of creativity, resourcefulness and sharply focused intention. He loved the prayer exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, and deeply loved the men of Demontreville.

“His bluntness was always underpinned with genuine affection and respect,” the obituary said. “Perhaps the greatest tribute is to say is that Ed Sthokal was a powerful instrument of God’s grace.”

The St. Camillus Jesuit Community in Milwaukee plans to celebrate a private Mass for Father Sthokal at a later date. Plans also are being made for a memorial service at St. Thomas More in St. Paul.