Rev. Raymond J. Nyquist

On February 27, 2017, Reverend Raymond J. Nyquist, 90, passed away peacefully at a
Great Falls hospital. Father Ray, born on September 6, 1926, in Great Falls, was the oldest of three children born to Hedwig (Hattie) Marie (Raunig) and Raymond Gordon Nyquist. He and his siblings grew up on the family farm. Ray graduated from Simms High School and then joined the Navy. After serving for two years, from 1944-46, he entered St. Edward Seminary in Kenmore, Washington. He was ordained a priest of the Catholic Church at St. Ann’s Cathedral in Great Falls, Montana on May 15, 1954. Then began his 62+ years of priestly ministry.

Father Ray served at St. Leo’s Parish in Lewistown as an assistant from June, 1954 to September, 1958. He was the pastor of St.Victor Parish in Hilger from September, 1958 to
September, 1959. He then moved to St. Margaret Mary Parish in Big Sandy and served there until June, 1967. From June, 1967 until September, 1973, he was the pastor of Holy Family Parish in Glentana. He studied at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, CA, from September, 1973 to February, 1974, when he was assigned as pastor of St. Margaret Parish in Geraldine. In July, 1983, he left there to become pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Culbertson and St. Patrick Parish in Medicine Lake until February, 1985. After a five-month sabbatical leave, he was the pastor of St. Mathias in Moore from July, 1985, to July, 1988. His next assignment was to pastor St. Rose of Lima Parish in Stanford while still serving in Moore. He remained in those positions until becoming the pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Black Eagle in July, 1993. He remained there, even after attaining retirement status in 2000, until July, 2009. Then, at the age of 82, he moved to Billings where he helped out in area parishes as needed, including serving for over a year as the temporary pastor of St. Benedict Parish in Roundup and its missions. In 2013, he moved back to Great Falls to live in residence at Corpus Christi Parish and to enjoy retirement while hearing confessions and concelebrating Mass in that parish community.

Father Ray’s faith life was centered on his love of Jesus in the Eucharist and his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He greatly expanded Eucharistic Adoration in Great Falls. He was an avid supporter of local pro-life efforts, the Marian Movement of Priests, the Legion of Mary and the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women. He invited the Neo-catechumenal Way into the Great Falls-Billings Diocese. He was active in ministering to prisoners at the County Adult Detention Center and the elderly in a local nursing home/assisted living facility. He always did what he could to help those in need and advocated for them with local agencies on many occasions. He was firm in his belief that, if one helps another in need, he is helping Christ Himself.

Father Ray loved his brother and sister and their families dearly and kept in close touch with them. He had a great sense of humor and enjoyed telling corny jokes. Gardening was one of his favorite pastimes. He was a simple, humble man who strove to practice what he preached. He would often say, “If you learn to laugh at yourself, you’ll be laughing all day.”

Father Ray is survived by his sister, Helene (John) Houghton; nephews Dawson Nyquist, Terry
(Teresa) Houghton, Chris Houghton, Mark (Jennifer) Houghton, and Kevin (Jenny) Houghton; nieces Charlotte (Rodrigo) Spiegel, Fran Nyquist, Roselyn Granger, Patrice (Frank) Patrinostro, Alyssa Nyquist, and Margaret (Nick) O’Connor; and thirty great-nephews and great-nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Charles, and two nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Echoz Pregnancy Care Center (1323 9th Ave. S, Great Falls 59405, echoz.org/donate) or Priests for Life (P O Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314, priestsforlife.org/donate/index.aspx#appeal).