Bernard Charles Goertz Bernard Charles Goertz was born in Red Rock, TX on July 4, 1928 to Joe B. and Anna Goertz. He always said he was the middle child as he had 3 older brothers and 3 younger sisters. He spent his grammar school days at Sacred Heart School in Rockne and at the age of thirteen entered St. John's Seminary in San Antonio, Texas. Eleven years later he and his first cousin Fr. Victor Goertz were ordained at Sacred Heart Church in Rockne by Bishop Louis J. Reicher on May 31, 1952. His first assignment was to Saint Mary's Parish in Temple as Associate Pastor to Monsignor P.J. O'Reilly who was a mentor to him for six years. During that time he was invited by the local National Guard unit to become their battalion chaplain and was commissioned a First Lieutenant on December 1, 1954. St. Mary's had a very active CYO which led to his appointment as the first Diocesan Youth Director in 1955. In 1961, he was sent to Fort Polk, LA and his life took an unexpected turn. He never expected to make a career of the military but stayed on active duty as an Army Chaplain for the next 23 years. His first duty assignment was to Fort Polk, LA which led to assignments in Germany with one year in Nurnberg, one in Bamberg, and one in Bad Kreuznach. Future assignments were to Post Chapel at Ft. Sam Houston, Staff Chaplain in Vietnam, Catholic Chaplain in El Paso, attended the New York Theological Seminary in Brooklyn, NY, Catholic Chaplain in Nurnberg, Germany, Staff Chaplain in Utah, Senior Catholic Chaplain in Washington, DC and ending with Post Chapel at Ft. Sam Houston, TX. He retired as a Colonel in June of 1984 and returned to the Diocese of Austin after 29 years and 7 months total service....23 years active duty. One of his most satisfying assignments was the three and a half years at Walter Reed in Washington. He got to meet many ambassadors and other embassy personnel from South and Central America as well as some of our own Senators. He was on the Mall in front of the Capitol the night Washington welcomed back the hostages from the American Embassy in Iran. His terminal tour of duty at Ft. Sam Houston led to an unexpected detour into Honduras for five months with the 41st Combat Support Hospital. In retirement he became a roving replacement priest throughout the diocese for many years. At one time or another he had served for varied periods of time in sixty parishes and missions of the diocese. As pastor of Santa Barbara at Hornsby Bend and contract chaplain to the Federal Correctional Institution at Bastrop he had three scheduled Masses every weekend. He was pastor at Santa Barbara on and off for seventeen years. He also said Mass at the two local nursing homes in Bastrop through December of 2010. He enjoyed playing dominoes, golfing, jogging and crossword puzzles. While stationed in Germany he began researching the lives of early settlers to the Rockne-String Prairie area. Many enjoyable tours to Germany were taken by relatives and friends who were delighted to worship in the ancestral church of their grandparents in Wurges. Father Ben passed unexpectedly on Feb. 14, 2012. He was preceded in death by his parents Joe B. and Anna Goertz and his brothers Francis and Raymond. He is survived by his brother Thomas Goertz and his wife Alberta of Rockne, his three sisters, Doris Cook and her husband Ray of Katy, Anita Sanders of Rockne and Theresa Goertz of Austin, 33 nieces and nephews and numerous grand and great-grand nieces and nephews. A Visitation will be at Marrs-Jones-Newby Funeral Home in Bastrop from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Feb 16, 2012. Rosary and Vigil will be at Sacred Heart Church in Rockne at 7:00 p.m. on Feb. 16th, 2012 and Mass will be celebrated at Sacred Heart Church at 11:00 a.m. on Feb. 17th, 2012. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to: Ladies of Charity of Bastrop P.O. Box 1060 Bastrop, TX 78602 or a charity of your choice .