7-3-24 / 5-30-00

Charles Francis Highland was born in Marietta, Ohio. He was the second child given to Charles Francis and Anna Caroline Stirnkorb Highland. He had one sister before him, Marcella, my mom. He attended St. Mary's Catholic school in Marietta for 12 years.
After that he began his quest to serve the Lord.

Attending St. Charles Seminary in Columbus he received his bachelor of arts degree at St. Mary, Norwood in Cincinnati. On May 1, 1950 he was ordained in St. Joseph, Bridgeport by Bishop John King Mussio. He was the priest in charge and administrator at All Saints in Blaine and assistant priest at St. Mary in St. Clairsville from May 12 to October 31,1950. Msgr.Highland was an instructor at St. John Central in Bellaire from May 12, 1950 to March 16, 1956 and assistant principal at St. John High School in Bellaire. He came to Churchtown on March 13, 1956 where he served as parish priest at St. John the Baptist Church in Churchtown, Ohio, and was appointed "Prelate of Honor to His Holiness" with the title of Monsignor on Dec. 30, 1986. This was awarded to him personally in the diocese on March 2, 1987. On May 1, 2000 he celebrated his 50th year ordination anniversary. And what a grand affair that was. His fellow priest friends were there and helped with the mass. I must admit it was a beautiful site to behold. My mom cried during this mass, and I am not
sure if it was something she felt coming or just that she was happy for him. She never said.

Uncle Father Highland had suffered a fall just before this anniversary that landed him in the hospital for a little over a week. He hit his face on a gravel driveway and no it was not a pretty sight. But as he always was, he never complained about anything. He ran the church and the school from his hospital bedside as if nothing had happened and said to all of us, he just wanted to get home and get back to work.

On May 25, 2000, Father Highland had a catherazation of his heart and found that he needed a quadruple bypass. The next day they did surgery, and again he did not complain. I called him at the hospital on May 29th to let him know I was leaving for vacation and would not see him until I returned. He said to me "I don't think they did anything to me.. I feel fine. You go on your vacation ..have fun and you have my blessings. I will be going home tomorrow." I said "OK then just wanted to tell you I love you before I leave." These were our last words to each other. Something I will hold dear in my heart forever. As God wanted .. Father Highland passed away after I was just two hours in the air for my destination on May 30th. I was not able to attend the funeral, but I was certainly there in Spirit.

Uncle Father Highland was a very important man in my life as he was to many other people. He was a kind man and very devoted to his church and his people as a parish. There are so many things to remember about him while growing up. I think the one thing that all of us did as his nieces and nephews was call him Unkie, or Unk for short. Even a few of his close friends had called him that as well. I don't really think this was his favorite nickname. He had mentioned when my dad passed away that Walter was the only one who didn't call him Unk, so I tried to make it a point not too. But I do recall my dad calling him Unk a few times. : )

Christmas morning came to be a time spent with Father Highland. Over the years as the family married and grew somewhat apart, I still made the effort to be there every year. It ended up being just Mom and I who would pack the food for our yearly tradition of Christmas pancakes, sausage and eggs. We traveled to Churchtown every Christmas morning snow or no snow, and after breakfast we would sit and watch as he opened all the gifts from his parishioners and from the family. Each and every item was to be opened with care as he used his little pocket knife to cut away the tape.

And then there was the farm. Father Highland went to the farm every weekend and would spend time in the cabin cooking his Sunday evening meal and enjoying the nature. He was always the one in charge of mowing the top of the hill and my friend Anita and I were in charge of the grass down by the pond. Every year in the spring we got together and would tune up the mowers and Father would gear up the riding mower. We always did wonder why we never had the chance to use the riding mower. : ) I guess he figured we were young and could handle it. I also remember a time when my mother, my father, myself and Father Highland would be at the farm for the holidays such as Memorial Day. What I can see in my mind is Father Highland in the driver's seat of the old jeep, my mother sitting in the back and my father in the pond pulling and gathering cat tails, and I, being the tom boy that I was, chasing frogs. : ) Everytime I see the "Spooge Monsters" in the pond I will remember my uncle. They are actually grass eating carp and Father Highland and I bought and let them loose just a year after dad passed away. After a recent visit to the farm and the cabin on the hill, I felt the presence and the Spirit of my uncle on that nob on the hill as though he should have been there. The farm and the cabin are never going to be the same without him.

The one special thing we had as a common bond was our love for the animals. He always had a dog and one of those was a German Shepherd named Duke. I have always had a love for the German Shepherd and more than likely had started with that dog. Uncle Father Highland had many breeds of dogs over the years, but his Shepherds were my favorite. He had another Shepherd mix named Rupert. I was given the honors of training him at dog obedience school and Uncle Father Highland kept our achievement and our pictures framed on his kitchen wall. The whole picture could not fit in the scanner but this was dated December 29th, 1971. He really made me feel special by keeping it on that wall till the day he passed away. He also would call me for any needs or questions he had on his dogs because he knew I would always be there to help. Over the years he had a couple of Greyhounds given to him by a friend. After the last of the Greyhounds I recommended that he get another Shepherd. He expressed his concerns that he thought this might be too big of a dog for him to handle at this time. But as God may have it, Father H. called and informed me that Bonnie M. was bringing a dog for him to see and wanted me to be there. Mom and I drove to Churchtown that day to see the new addition to his life. Her name is Ginger and she looked exactly like my Shepherd Zeke only smaller and darker in color. I told him the day he got her, that I really didn't like the name Ginger and I thought she looked like a Zoe. He never did change her name, but had made a joke of how he was going to change her name to Help after he had the fall. Apparently some of his parishioners heard him calling for Ginger that night, but thought nothing of it. He said "Had her name been *Help* they may have come to help him." : ) He certainly had a sense of humor. I have inherited this dog.. And yes I have changed her name to Zoe. She knows her new name and seems to like it very well. It has been quite an adjustment for the dogs and I, but we have already welcomed her into our home as though she should have been here all along. Since she has been here I have come to understand her loyalty and loving nature, and know in my heart that she was there beside Father Highland keeping him warm through that night he had fallen.

August 12, 2000, my friend Katie was here and I was telling her how much I loved Zoe but was not able to give her the attention she needed and how she loved children. Katie looked at me and said "Do you want me to take her home?" I was surprised to hear these words, yet on the other hand very excited. I knew Katie would give her a wonderful home and she has two great kids! After asking her what her husband would think about it, she assured me it would not be a problem. I have since then been visited by Katie and Zoe and when she got ready to leave Katie picked up her purse, Zoe was ready to leave with her. The two of them have created a bond that I am very happy to see. I have also been to Zoe's new home and she could not have been chosen by a better family! I do miss her but I know she is being taken care of by the best.
*Note* June, 2001...I guess poor Ginger/Zoe has a problem with barking so she has been placed into a loving home where she stays inside and eats steak for dinner.

I really regret not having been here when he passed away, but for some reason it wasn't meant to be. The old saying when one door closes another door opens. Perhaps he knew of another door opening for me when he gave me his blessings. Upon arriving home my mother had given me the newspapers and articles about my uncle and a copy of the homily by Monsignor George J. Adams. In this homily were these words:
He watched over the flock diligently, willingly, generously. An example of priestliness not lording it over the people of God - but teaching love and that Jesus was their friend. Making knowing through Him what the Father wanted - to believe and practice; especially to love one another as The Father commanded through Jesus. In a dutiful and priestly way, Father Charles laid down his life for the people of God in Blain, Clairsville, St. John Central High School in Bellaire, and especially in St. John The Baptist Parish.... As we rejoice in Father's life, ministry, and friendship, and who our final respects in the presence of his body, one another and Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice, let us hope and pray that it will not be long until this good and faithful Shepherd will have to wait, for the Chief Shepherd to appear and Charles will win the unfading crown of glory.

May the song of the angels lead you into Paradise, dear classmate and priest - Requiescat in Pace!!

Memories

A letter written to my mother. From a friend of Father Highland.

Charlie always had a firm grasp of what he wanted. He wanted to be in Churchtown and to be with the people. He did not see it as an assignment or work. He, with that wonderful twinkle in his eyes, would say that if you are sixty-five years old, you could retire and not attend meetings but if you were the priest, you could still attend. I'll never forget the time that he asked me to prepare food for a meeting of priests in the deanery. I had worked for a while preparing vegetables, cheeses, and meats. We all met in the church for prayer and then we came back to the rectory to share with drinks and snacks. When we walked into the kitchen all the food was gone except for some vegetables surrounded by paw prints. Charlie immediately said before I could get angry, "Isn't it wonderful that Rupert was here to chase that dog away so there would be some vegetables left?" His humorous remark cut right to the point. The purpose of the food was to share and we could still do that in peace. He just would rather talk about things of peace and God's presence rather than matters or gossip that bring stress. When the people of Churchtown look at the school and think not of the cost but rather see a community of children in an environment of spirituality, peace, love and truth, then Fr. Highland is still there. When they are out in their fields tired and cranky from working all day with seemingly no return and they see the church steeple gleaming in the midst of the community and they remember gathering, sharing, and loving with family and neighbors, then Fr. Highland is still there. When they walk into their church on Sunday not only to avoid hell and to go to heaven but also to live the words, "Love one another as I have loved you," then Fr. Highland is still there.
(This letter made me laugh and it made me cry ... and I thought to myself .. that is so Fr. Highland.)

Another one remembers

I very much appreciated the website dedicated to Father Highland. He is sadly missed and it just gives you the added grace in knowing he was loved and will always be loved and missed. You did an excellent job on this website and the funeral was beautiful and filled with grief, but at the same time we praised him for being such a wonderful man and priest.

Words from Pam B.

I just looked at the website (again) for Fr. Highland. You did a terrific job. I miss him so much. After I started working on the bulletin every week, I got to know him so much better. I have never met a man who was so kind, considerate, funny, full of a ton of knowledge and just a pleasure to be around. I helped cook hot lunch a few times at the school this past year and when he would come in the door, the kids would say "Monsignor, come sit by me"....they truly loved and adored him as I know our whole parish did. I don't know that I will ever meet another human being that I had so much respect for as I did him. But I do know that I am a better person and a truly blessed person for having known him.

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Fr. Highland's parents and a very young boy

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Marcella and Father Highland/Easter,2000 and A painting of Rupert

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More Christmas pictures from 1987 - 1996

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Picture dated 1-24-48, and an old picture of St. John's Church

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Msgr. always had a dog, must be where I get it from : )

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Old Mack, sure was a character : )

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Ironically, this first picture was dated May 30, 1937, Fr.'s dog Streaky. And I found it interesting these two dogs were both posed in front of a rose bush.

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Just looking good.

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Deaconate - 1949, First Mass at St. Mary's, Marietta, May 7 1950, and Ordination, St. Joseph, Bridgeport.

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I think these speak for themselves.

(More pictures will be added as I aquire them.)

Jude · Foot-Loose · Courtland & Cameron

Mom and Dad · Kahn & Zep · Zeke & Maya · Bella

Zephaniah · My Uncle · Links

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