DETROIT — If you ever drove by Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish on Detroit’s east side on a summer Saturday between 1989 and 2010, you might have seen Fr. Donald Sopiak.

He was the guy wearing a Roman collar and a wide-brimmed hat, smoking a cigar and cruising up and down the block on a riding mower.

“That was just Fr. Don,” said Kathleen Lubien, parish secretary for 12 years at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish in Detroit, where Fr. Sopiak served as pastor during those years. “He was a priest’s priest, but he was also a priest of the people.”

Fr. Sopiak, who was known for his down-to-earth personality and compassionate soul, died March 4 at the age of 71.

Donald Sopiak was born in Detroit on Sept. 8, 1949, one of two sons of Peter and Diana (nee Pulczynski) Sopiak. After discerning a calling to the priesthood in his 20s, Fr. Sopiak attended Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit and St. John’s Provincial Seminary in Plymouth, graduating in 1978.

He was ordained by Cardinal John F. Dearden on Sept. 9, 1978, and assigned to St. Suzanne/Our Lady Gate of Heaven Parish in Detroit.

After serving as associate pastor at St. Suzanne/Our Lady Gate of Heaven (1978-81), St. Dorothy Parish in Center Line (1981-86), and St. Dennis Parish in Royal Oak (1986-89), Fr. Sopiak was given his first — and only — pastorate assignment at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish on Rolyat Street in Detroit, where he was a fixture for the next 21 years.

“He was a very generous, very caring priest. Anybody who came to the door, he would help them out in any way he could,” Lubien said.

Fr. Sopiak loved the parish’s annual “Good Times” festival, Lubien said, and he relished selling raffle tickets and wearing funny hats.

His big heart and love for community led him to host large gatherings for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, inviting members of the parish and community who didn’t have anywhere else to go, she added.

“We had several parishioners who had lost their spouses or just didn’t have anyplace to go for the holidays, and so he would cook a big family dinner and they would be invited to come and have Christmas Eve dinner before midnight Mass,” Lubien said. “He’d have his own family, plus maybe 20 or so parishioners. He’d make them feel welcome.”

Fr. Sopiak’s embrace of Jesus’ parable of the wedding banquet — reaching out to those on the peripheries — wasn’t limited to his holiday gatherings.

Fr. Sopiak’s monthly calendar also featured regular community calls for confession and Communion, and a weekly Mass at Holy Cross Hospital in Detroit.

“He had a lot of people whom he called without fail,” Lubien said. “The conversations might only be a word or two, but he’d always call.”

Fr. Sopiak’s homilies “spoke to everybody,” Lubien added. “A lot of priests will give you a very intellectual sermon, but he made it down-to-earth. When he finished his homily, you had something to take away.”

After he retired in 2010, Fr. Sopiak stayed active with the parish community, frequently visiting with parishioners and staff, said Angela Vann, office manager for Our Lady Queen of Heaven-Good Shepherd Parish, which merged in 2016.

The seemingly restless Fr. Sopiak’s desire to serve never left him, Vann said — even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A friend of Fr. Don’s said she had spoken to him before he became ill, and Fr. Don said, ‘I’m getting ready to call Tim Horton’s because I understand they’re hiring, and I need something to do,’” Vann laughed. “He was so bored where he was. Even with all that was going on, he was still trying to do something. He said, ‘I’d be good at that, serving coffee.’”

F.r Sopiak is predeceased by his parents, Peter and Diana Sopiak. He is survived by his brother Ken (Carol) Sopiak; nephews, Kenneth and Kevin Sopiak; as well as great nieces and nephews.

A funeral Mass took place for Fr. Sopiak on Saturday, March 13, at St. Malachy Parish in Sterling Heights.