Lakeport — Fr. Thomas Esper came from a family of priests, so it was only natural that family and the priesthood were both close to his heart.

His nephew, Fr. John Esper, pastor of St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in Madison Heights, remembers being inspired as a young man by his uncle’s vocation.

“There’s been a long line of priests in the Esper family. I think I’m the sixth or seventh,” Fr. John Esper said. “The family geographically lived very close to the church, St. Alphonsus in Dearborn, so he had a great love for the family that was grounded in the Church.”

Fr. Tom Esper, a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit for 66 years, died Dec. 27 at the age of 91.

He served a variety of parishes, most recently St. Edward on the Lake Parish in Lakeport, where he was pastor from 1986-96. (Another Fr. Esper, Fr. Joseph Esper — a distant cousin — was later pastor of St. Edward from 2000-12.)

“He was an awesome pastor and a fun guy,” said Paula McCarthy, director of religious education at the parish. “He was very caring, always upbeat, always smiling, always wanting to get to know us. He spent time with a lot of parishioners, going to dinner with them, spending family time with us. He wanted to be a part of everybody’s lives.”

McCarthy first met Fr. Tom Esper when she and her husband were starting their cleaning business. St. Edward had hired them to clean the church, so “he was our boss,” said McCarthy, who later became DRE at the parish.

Though Fr. Esper was meticulous in wanting the church clean, he was more interested in the people of the parish and school, McCarthy said.

“He loved kids,” McCarthy said. “He loved being in the school and handing out report cards. He enjoyed the school very much.”

McCarthy described Fr. Tom Esper as a “Blessed Mother priest” who always prayed the rosary and was devoted to the Tridentine Mass, which he helped celebrate at St. Edward from 2009-14, after his retirement.

“His homilies always centered on the fact that Jesus loves you, and you need to love him back,” McCarthy said. “And he always thought of others.”

He also loved to travel, said Fr. John Esper, who cared for his uncle over the last year.

“He did an around-the-world trip with a number of priests and has really traveled extensively,” Fr. John Esper said.

Fr. Tom was so well-loved that when it came time to find photos of him for the funeral, “rarely was there an individual photo we could find; he was always with a friend or group.”

Fr. John Esper said Fr. Tom and his brother, Fr. Clem Esper, were both instrumental in his own decision to enter the priesthood — particularly in their devotion to prayer and in celebrating Mass.

“He was very grounded in the priesthood, and really knew that as his primary identity,” Fr. John Esper said.

Fr. Tom Esper was born in Dearborn and attended Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, the Pontifical North American College in Rome and the Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

He was ordained June 2, 1951.

He served as assistant pastor at St. Louis Parish, Mount Clemens (1951-54); Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, River Rouge (1954-59); St. Gertrude Parish, St. Clair Shores (1959-64); St. Joseph Parish, Trenton (1964-65); and St. Mary’s of Redford Parish, Detroit (1965-69).

Fr. Esper later served as pastor of Holy Innocents Parish, Roseville (1969-86) and St. Edward on the Lake Parish, Lakeport (1986-96), serving also as vicar of the Port Huron Vicariate from 1993-96. He also served on the archdiocesan Presbyteral Council.