Jan. 18, 2014
Father Donald Thissen
Father Donald Thissen was born on Sept. 29, 1944, in Kingman. He studied at Conception Seminary, Conception, Mo., and at St. Thomas Seminary, Denver, before his ordination May 30, 1970, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Wichita. In the 1970s he served as an associate at Blessed Sacrament and St. Francis of Assisi parishes in Wichita. He was named an associate at All Saints in 1982. In 1984 he was named pastor of St. Leo, St. Leo, and St. Peter, Willowdale. Sacred Heart Parish in Cunningham was added to his responsibilities in 1987. Father Thissen moved to Southeast Kansas in 1991 when he was named pastor of Sacred Heart, Frontenac, and St. Alice, Capaldo, and as a part-time chaplain at Mt. Carmel Medical Center in Pittsburg. St. Joseph, Arma, was added to his duties as pastor in 1993. Two years later he was named pastor of St. Michael, Girard, and St. Joseph, Arma. Father Thissen retired in 2009 for health reasons. He is buried in Ascension Cemetery in Wichita.