Kevin Richard Fane, O.P.

7 December 2024

Richard Lee Fane was born August 5, 1942, to Leo and Florence Fane in Dixon, Illinois. He attended elementary school at St. Mary’s in Dixon and High School at Dixon Public High and Newman Central Catholic High in Sterling, Illinois, where he received his diploma in 1960. He began undergraduate studies at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. After two years of coursework, Richard entered the Dominican Novitiate at St. Peter Martyr Priory in Winona, Minnesota. He received the habit on August 30, 1963, and received the religious name of Kevin. On August 31, 1963, he professed first vows at St. Peter Martyr Priory in the hands of V. Rev. John Marr, OP. From 1963-1966, he completed his BA in Philosophy at St. Thomas Aquinas Priory in River Forest, Illinois. On August 31, 1966, he professed solemn vows in the hands of V. Rev. Gilbert Graham, OP. From 1966-1968, he was assigned to St. Rose Priory in Dubuque to study theology and was ordained to the priesthood at St. Rose Priory on May 24, 1969, by Most Rev. Jerome J. Hastrich.

Fr. Kevin’s first assignment was teaching theology at St. Mary’s Dominican College in New Orleans from 1970-1972. After this, he moved to Minnesota for 10 years, where he served as Parochial Vicar at Holy Rosary Parish in Minneapolis from 1972 until 1977 and then in Campus Ministry at St. Catherine University in St. Paul from 1977 to 1982. He was appointed Pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1982. In 1989, he took a yearlong sabbatical before returning to Holy Rosary Parish for two years.

In 1992, Fr. Kevin was assigned to St. Vincent Ferrer Priory in River Forest where he did pastoral supply work and began into hospital chaplaincy, a ministry he deeply enjoyed for the following three decades. He worked at various hospitals around the Chicago area in the 1990s (St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Columbus Hospital in Chicago, St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago). In 2002, he became chaplain at Presence Resurrection Medical Center where he ministered until he entered limited service in 2020 and moved to St. Pius V Priory, Chicago, Illinois. Fr. Kevin was known for his welcoming demeanor and was a joyful brother, especially when sharing endless stories about his hometown of Dixon to his community.

Having been diagnosed previously with Parkinson’s, Fr. Kevin moved to Ascension Resurrection Life Center in March of 2021 for better medical care. There his health continued to decline until he was placed on hospice care in the fall of 2024. Fr. Kevin passed away on December 7, 2024.

Office of the Dead and Mass of Christian Burial were held at St. Pius V Parish on December 13, 2024. Very Rev. Louis Morrone, O.P., Prior Provincial, presided and Rev. Ed Ruane, O.P., preached. Fr. Fane was laid to rest in All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois.