Ira Township — Fr. Sigismund Kowalczyk was always happy see families happy at church and did everything he could to make them feel at home.

His devotion to the priesthood and all that it entailed drew people to him and led to others consider the priestly vocation, said Jane Mount, former director of religious education at Immaculate Conception Parish in Ira Township, where Fr. Kowalczyk was pastor.

“Fr. Sig (as many called him) was a committed priest who loved to see all the families with children coming to church and participating in the community,” Mount said. “He was a big promoter of the vocations. He’d end every Mass with ‘God is good,’ and the community would respond, ‘All the time.’”

Fr. Kowalczyk died April 19. He was 88.

Sigismund Kowalczyk was born Oct. 2, 1929, in Hamtramck to Chester and Sophie Kowalczyk. After attending SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake and St. John’s Provincial Seminary in Plymouth Township, he was ordained a priest on June 2, 1956, by Cardinal Edward A. Mooney.

Fr. Kowalczyk served as an associate pastor at Immaculate Conception (1956-60), St. Hyacinth (1960-65) and St. Francis D’Assisi (1965-70) in Detroit.

He was pastor of St. Francis D’Assisi (1970-84) and SS. Peter and Paul (Westside) (1984-93) in Detroit and Immaculate Conception (1993-99) in Ira Township before being granted senior priest status.

“He was a dependable team player,” Mount said. “He was already ready and prepared for team meetings and his liturgies were wonderful. If he was going to have something ready, it was done. He wrote great articles in the parish bulletin, promoted family life and life in general; he was a ‘family priest.’”

Mount recalled how Fr. Kowalczyk often visited faith formation classes and the school at Immaculate Conception, saying his face always lit up when he was around children.

“He was committed to the formation of children; he was seen a lot by the kids in our community because they mattered to him,” Mount said. “He would just pop into the classroom, no matter what the lesson was, and talk about God.”

During his retirement, Fr. Kowalczyk was the senior priest in residence at St. Mark Church on Harsens Island.

St. Mark parishioner Stephanie Spencer used to drive Fr. Kowalczyk around to the grocery store and help him with day-to-day tasks.

“He had this amazing faith and complete trust in God,” Spencer said. “He taught all of us how to be better people. He was just a gentle man and very caring. He loved the environment and loved all the people of Harsens Island. He was often seen walking around the island with his little dog, Teddy.”

Spencer added most of Fr. Kowalczyk’s homilies at St. Mark were in story format because, “Jesus liked to tell stories, and so do I,” he explained to his parishioners.

Fr. Kowalczyk had an influence on Fr. David Tomaszycki, now associate pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Plymouth. When Fr. Tomaszycki was young, his dad would take him to daily Mass at Immaculate Conception in Ira Township. Fr. Tomaszycki’s dad remembered Fr. Kowalczyk from his time as associate pastor of St. Hyacinth and was glad to see Fr. Kowalczyk assigned to his parish.

“I remember serving Mass at Immaculate Conception and Fr. Sig was the first person I told I wanted to be a priest,” Fr. Tomaszycki said. “He just seemed so happy with being a priest, so thankful to celebrate Mass. When I served my first Mass, he introduced me, saying my dad served him at St. Hyacinth. When I served, at the end of Mass he’d thank the altar servers and the people around him. That always stood out for me. So during my first Mass at Immaculate Conception, I showed my gratitude that he was there.”

Fr. Kowalczyk’s funeral was celebrated at Immaculate Conception Parish on April 26. He was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield.