Deacon Thomas Joseph O’Connell, 88, died at his home in Crest Hill on Aug. 10. He was ordained in 1978 and served at St. Walter Parish before moving to the Diocese of Joliet, where he served at St. Mary Immaculate Parish.

Born in Chicago, he attended St. Columbanus School and Leo High School. He attended Loyola University Chicago before enlisting in the U.S. Army. He joined the Chicago Fire Department in 1958, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant in the Fire Prevention Bureau. He was known nationally for his efforts in public education, his “Learn Not to Burn” programs for young children and the establishment of the Illinois Burn Camp for children scarred by fire injuries.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Margaret; his children Thomas O’Connell Jr., Peggy DesPain, Timothy O’Connell and Kathleen O’Grady; 10 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and brothers Jack and Ted (Debbie) O’Connell.

Father William J. McNulty, 87, died Aug. 11. He was pastor emeritus of St. Patrick Parish, Lake Forest.

Father McNulty was born in Chicago and attended St. Angela, Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1961.

He was assistant pastor of St. Justin Martyr; St. Martha, Morton Grove; and Queen of All Saints Basilica Parish. He served as chaplain to Catholic Action Federations and was director of the archdiocesan Office for Marriage and Family Life and the Pastoral Services Department. Father McNulty served as associate pastor of St. Mary, Evanston, and pastor of St. Patrick Parish. The title of pastor emeritus was bestowed on him in 2004.

Father Larry Hennessey, who has spent the last 30 years at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, would share coffee cake and coffee every Sunday with McNulty.

“He was very unpretentious,” Hennessey said. “There was a real humility about him, that he readily acknowledged. He loved to learn new things.”

Redemptorist Father Anthony Judge, 68, died Aug. 5 in Minneapolis.

Born in St. Louis, he professed perpetual vows as a Redemptorist in 1973 and was ordained a priest in 1979.

He was sent to the Amazon region of Brazil, where he served from 1980 to 1990.

When he returned to the United States, Father Tony learned Spanish so that he could provide pastoral care to Hispanics and newly arrived immigrants in the language in which they speak to God. He served in parishes in Colorado, then ministered as an itinerant mission preacher and coordinated and led Hispanic ministries in California and Kansas.

Father Tony joined the Redemptorist Mission Team in Chicago as a missionary preacher in 2008, and was appointed director of the Mission Team in 2011. Four years later, he was assigned associate pastor of St. Alphonsus Parish in Minneapolis, where he was serving at the time of his death.

Sister of St. Joseph Lucia Marie Gibbons, 94, died Aug. 6.

She had been a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph for 73 years. Over her long career, Sister Lucia taught elementary school at Our Lady of Bethlehem and St. Joseph Academy in LaGrange Park; St. Francis Xavier, LaGrange; Mount Carmel, Chicago Heights; St. John Fisher; and in Mississippi.

She taught secondary school at Nazareth Academy, LaGrange Park, and St. Paul High School. She also served as pastoral associate at St. Hubert, Hoffman Estates.