Detroit — Those who were blessed to know Fr. Jerome C. Singer, the longtime pastor of Nativity of Our Lord Parish in Detroit, knew a man who loved, and gave, without limits.

“He was very, very loving, very, very gentle, and very, very committed to the poor and to the city,” said Sr. Jolene VanHandel, OP, who had served with Fr. Singer for nearly 44 years at the parish, since he was assigned there in 1971. “When people were in need, whether it was psychologically or physically, he was there to do whatever he could.”

Fr. Singer died Nov. 20, at the parish house. He was 77.

While he had suffered from the effects of myotonic dystrophy, a disease that affects both the muscles and the heart, his death had been unexpected. Though the condition prevented him from driving, Fr. Singer celebrated Mass, organized the parish’s charitable giving and even visited people in nursing homes and in hospitals in the days before his death.

Over the weekend, Sr. VanHandel said Nativity parishioners shed many tears, but also shared with each other countless stories of Fr. Singer’s self-giving and generosity.

One parishioner told of how the priest, an avid Detroit Lions football fan, had apologized to a parishioner who had given him a very nice Lions jacket, because Fr. Singer — of no surprise to anyone — had given it away to someone who was in need of a coat in the cold weather.

Others recalled how, on various occasions, Fr. Singer had let parishioners who were ill or otherwise in need stay at the parish house.

“One lady he literally carried up the stairs because she couldn’t walk and there were no bedrooms on the ground floor,” Sr. VanHandel recalled.

Throughout his ministry, Fr. Singer built a reputation as a champion for the poor. In addition to caring personally for those who came to him, he was known for playing a key role in building the community, largely through the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance.

Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Donald F. Hanchon, who served as a fellow Detroit pastor for decades and as a bishop has overseen the Detroit parishes, says Fr. Singer always had an unquestionable sincerity and dedication to the people of his parish.

“Fr. Jerry was a good-hearted priest who was very dedicated to keeping Nativity going,” he said, adding that the people believed in him, too — a sizable reason the Church of the Nativity remains a lively parish.

Even when you might not have agreed with him, Bishop Hanchon added, you always knew where Fr. Singer stood, and that he was driven by love for the people he served. And this, the bishop sensed, stemmed from his family. His mother, Ruth Singer, had been involved in St. Bernard Parish in Detroit, where, then a transitional deacon, Bishop Hanchon had been assigned.

“She was just an extraordinarily dedicated and competent woman who loved the poor,” he said, “and I think Jerry, and his sister and brother, all got that from their parents.”

In preparing some notes for his own funeral — something he encouraged his parishioners to do — Fr. Singer wrote that his kindergarten teacher once sent a note home to his parents, saying that the young Jerry still cried easily. He attributed that note to developing more of a “tough guy” mentality — though he admitted, and others knew, that he couldn’t always hide his emotions.

“He would shed tears at funerals of people he knew,” Sr. VanHandel said. “On any sad occasion, he would cry with you.”

Fr. Singer was born in Detroit and attended University of Detroit Jesuit High School. He was ordained June 1, 1963.

He attended Sacred Heart Seminary, Detroit, and St. John Provincial Seminary, Plymouth Township, and celebrated his first Mass at St. Paul on the Lake Parish in Grosse Pointe Farms.

Prior to becoming pastor of Nativity, Fr. Singer served as assistant pastor at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, St. Clair Shores (1963-67); St. John the Baptist Parish, Monroe (1967-69); St. Mary Magdalen Parish, Hazel Park (1969-70); and St. Elizabeth Parish, Detroit (1970-71). He also served as vicar of the Eastside Vicariate from 1998-2001.

Fr. Singer’s funeral was to have been Nov. 25 at Church of the Nativity, 5900 McClellan Street in Detroit. Interment was to have been at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Detroit. Memorial donations can be made to Church of the Nativity Parish.