Father Gariepy honored for service

By Tanya Connor  | The Catholic Free Pres

WORCESTER – As Veterans’ Day approached, Father Robert E. Gariepy, a Worcester Diocesan priest who served in the U.S. Army for 20 years, 18 of them as a chaplain, was honored for his service.
He was drafted during the Korean Conflict and served two years in Germany. Later he became a priest and, on Jan. 6, 1967, joined the Army Chaplain Corps. He retired on May 1, 1985, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Family members gathered in his room at Rose Monahan Hospice Home on Monday. The Rev. Doreen Noble, chaplain for the hospice, led the pinning ceremony, which included an American flag pin, certificate, quilt, slides and song.
“This ceremony is part of the national Hospice and Palliative Care program,” Rev. Noble told The Catholic Free Press. “It’s one of the last ceremonies a veteran would have prior to their passing. …
“One of the big things in hospice is life review,” she said. This ceremony encourages veterans to share their stories. Rev. Noble said she and Father Gariepy’s niece Diane Savarese did that by viewing and talking about pictures of his military days with him, in preparation for Monday’s slide show, during which he also made comments.
Rev. Noble had Father Gariepy’s brother Roland Gariepy, who is also a veteran, pin an American flag on him, and had his niece Janice Drass, another veteran, present him with a certificate for his service. Joining them to “tuck him in” with a patriotic quilt made by a VNA volunteer were the other family members present: his sister Jeannine Farineau; sister-in-law Evelyn Gariepy, and nieces Diane Savarese and Jane Folan. (The hospice home is part of VNACare in Worcester.)
Father Gariepy swung his arms as Rev. Noble started a recording of “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” She took his hand and helped him “dance,” as he lay in bed.