Deb Myers, a parishioner at Holy Name of Jesus in Wayzata, knew Father Peter Wittman when she was a high school student in 1974. And after decades of friendship, as a hospice nurse and lifelong friend, she was with him when he died in a care facility in Eden Prairie Oct. 15. His brother, Mark, the only sibling living in the Twin Cities, was also at his bedside. Father Wittman was 74.

“We sent him on a cloud of glory,” Myers said. She often played music for him in his final days. Before his last breath, she and Mark played “On Eagle’s Wings,” “Come to Jesus” and “Be Not Afraid.” Mark also played “the Twins song,” she said, as Father Wittman was an avid baseball and Minnesota Twins fan.

Father Wittman grew up in Richfield, but when he visited Myers’ family farm outside Montgomery, he would ride on the tractors with her brothers. Father Wittman served as a deacon at Most Holy Redeemer in those days, and Myers’ mother taught at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic School in Montgomery. “She took him under her wing when he became a deacon,” Myers said. “He was like a member of our family.” He presided at Myers’ wedding and those of all her siblings, and baptized their children.

When Myers was 20, she was diagnosed with a type of cancer that offered a poor prognosis and required at least five major surgeries. “No matter where he was, he came to the hospital and anointed me before every surgery,” she said. She recalled him as always kind and humble.

“He brought so much joy to our family all those years,” Myers said. “I love him dearly.”

Father Wittman was ordained a priest May 31, 1975. He was assigned (in June) to St. Michael in St. Paul. He also ministered at St. Mark in Shakopee, St. John the Baptist in Savage, All Saints in Lakeville and St. Joseph in West St. Paul before serving in the role of canonical administrator during the Shakopee Catholic Education Consolidation from 2008-2011. He then went on to serve Shakopee area parishes, beginning in 2008 with St. Mary of the Purification, later adding St. Mark and St. Mary in Shakopee before overseeing their 2013 merger into Sts. Joachim and Anne. He served that consolidated parish until his retirement from active ministry in July 2015.

Deacon Bill Heiman, a parishioner at St. John the Baptist in Excelsior, started working with Father Wittman around 2011, before the consolidation — first at the former St. Mary and St. Mary of the Purification parishes, and later adding St. Mark.

Before the merger, Father Wittman said Mass at all three churches with “the two St. Marys” about 10 to 12 miles apart, Deacon Heiman said. “When St. Mark’s came into play, he added at least two to three more Masses” each week, Deacon Heiman said.

Deacon Heiman told Father Wittman he was going to over-commit himself, “but he looked at me and said, ‘We need to bring the Eucharist to the people. We need to make sure that the Eucharist is available no matter what parish building we’re going to … .’ “ He later added a 10 a.m. Sunday Mass in a school gymnasium to serve the east side of Shakopee.

Father Wittman was quiet, introverted, kind, lived to celebrate Mass and be present for people, Deacon Heiman said. He had tremendous energy and a great love for Catholic schools, especially grade schools.

“He would have all these parish meetings, going from the pastoral council to the finance council to the parish council to the trustees,” Deacon Heiman said. “And I would say, ‘Father, you can’t do this.’ And he said, ‘I read to the children tomorrow, and that’s what will get me through ….’ “

Deacon Heiman recalled Father Wittman as a walker and hiker whose pace was difficult to match. “He would bound in … and I would drag myself in and he … would say, ‘I’m going to be gone for about an hour and a half. Watch the parish. I’m going to read to the children.’ “

Father Wittman was a big proponent of Catholic education, said Julie Bennett, business administrator at Sts. Joachim and Anne. “He told school leaders he wanted no student turned away because of tuition (cost),” she said.

Visitation will be held from 2–8 p.m. Oct. 22 and 9–10:45 a.m. Oct. 23 at St. John the Baptist in Savage. Archbishop Bernard Hebda will preside at the Mass of Christian burial at 11 a.m. Father Tom Krenik, pastor of Risen Savior in Burnsville, will deliver the homily.

Due to COVID-19-related restrictions, a limited number of people can attend the Mass in person. Mass will be livestreamed via the Facebook page of the funeral home, McNearney-Schmidt Funeral and Cremation. A recording after the Mass will be available on its “Tribute Wall.”

Father Wittman is survived by two brothers, one sister, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. He will be interred at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights.