Deacon Trautwein remembered for compassionate ministry

Ralph Trautwein Jr. remembered his father, Deacon Ralph Trautwein Sr., as a man of faith who held to his strong beliefs even as he struggled with Alzheimer’s disease in his later years.

“Despite whatever Alzheimer’s took, what was left underneath at the core of my dad is what shown through: a good man,” Trautwein said.

Deacon Trautwein died Oct. 20 at age 82. Ordained June 15, 1996 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland, he had served his entire diaconate at St. Ignatius in Hickory. A funeral Mass was offered Oct. 26 at St. Ignatius.

Trautwein, who offered a reflection at his father’s funeral, noted that Deacon Trautwein wore a worn silver cross.

“It is well-worn because he wore it under his shirt near his heart,” he said. “When my father really no longer knew who I was, even though he was living with me, he would still point to that cross and say, ‘This is my life.’” 

Deacon Trautwein committed to becoming a clergyman after both he and his wife, Constance, were diagnosed with cancer, and both recovered from the disease. He helped establish the Knights  of Columbus at his parish and was a Knight himself, his son said. He performed hundreds of weddings and baptisms and played a critical role in both St. Ignatius’ RCIA program and its soup kitchen partnership, Care Night Food Ministry.

“He was really gentle, kind,” said Bridgit Goedeke, a resident of Bel Air who works at the parish office. “Families  felt welcomed. He would baptize their children, and he would really prayerfully embrace them and remember them.”

In serving through Care Night, Deacon Trautwein, along with Constance, were hands-on. They didn’t wait for others to get things done.

“He and my mom would run around with the pickup truck to places like BJs to collect donations and fill his truck,” Trautwein remembered. “And then (with volunteers) they’d prepare meals for a couple hundred people.”

During his many years as a schoolteacher before his diaconate, Trautwein was also hands-on, according to family members. He played an active role in his students’ learning as a science teacher. Goedeke was a student of Deacon Trautwein when he taught biology at C. Milton Wright High School in Bel Air.

“He was a great teacher,” she said. “He was a very interactive teacher. We had to do a leaf project. He could look at a tree and know exactly what that tree was and where it came from. We had to collect and identify over 100 leaves each – each student. It was thorough. Going for nature walks with him around the campus was really good.”

Deacon Trautwein earned an undergraduate degree from Towson University, where he met his future wife. They married in 1963. He went on to get a master’s degree in education from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and a master’s degree in science from Morgan State University in Baltimore. During his time as a teacher, he also taught at Bel Air High School and The John Carroll School in Bel Air.

His son said his father committed himself to loving his family unconditionally. He recalled two incidents in particular: getting in a car accident and losing his car keys at a ski slope. The elder Trautwein went to his son’s rescue both times, without complaint.

“He did not say one negative thing to me,” Trautwein recalled. “ My dad showed me over and over what truly loving someone was all about.”

Monsignor James Barker, pastor of St. Ignatius, said Deacon Trautwein was a compassionate person. 

“He really lived a diaconal spirit – just a very personable and kind, kind  man. He would try to do anything he was asked. I just have fond memories of him. He was a gentle soul.”

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