Born Dec. 30, 1946, to Peter and Delia Moloney, the future Fr. Moloney grew up in Inagh, County Clare, Ireland, with his two brothers, Michael and Patrick, and two sisters, Maureen and Margaret.
Fr. T.J. MoloneyFr. Moloney’s assignments within the Archdiocese of Detroit included St. Joseph Parish, Wyandotte; St. Matthias Parish, Sterling Heights; St. Joan of Arc Parish, St. Clair Shores; and St. Peter Parish, Mount Clemens.
Most recently, Fr. Moloney had served as pastoral care minister at Henry Ford Hospital in Wyandotte, while residing at the Irish Pallottines’ mission house in Wyandotte.
Karen Gorski, pastoral care coordinator at Henry Ford Hospital, said Fr. Moloney had been their priest chaplain for nearly four years, and “was known for his sense of humor and his good heart.”
“Two people contacted me after learning of Fr. T.J.’s death,” Gorski said. “One expressed gratitude for visiting frequently through a long hospitalization. Another mentioned how Father’s ministry helped bring him back to the Lord.”
Gorski said Fr. Moloney was even willing to learn a new hospital electronic medical record charting system, which was “a challenge, but one he undertook with humor and diligence.”
She added he was willing at all hours to anoint a patient, and was frequently asked to celebrate funerals for patients who had died.
Fr. Michael Cremin, SAC, pastor of St. Vincent Pallotti Parish in Wyandotte and longtime friend of Fr. Moloney, said a great many people attended Fr. Moloney’s funeral May 5 at St. Joseph Church of St. Vincent Pallotti Parish.
“There were over 700 people at the funeral,” said Fr. Cremin, adding more than 1,000 people came to pay their respects the previous day at R.J. Nixon Funeral Home, Wyandotte.
Fr. Cremin said Fr. Moloney had “reached out far and wide to hundreds and hundreds of families.”
He explained Fr. Moloney was “very much an Irishman,” from blasting Irish Ceili music out his windows while driving, to keeping close with the various Irish-American communities in southeast Michigan, Chicago, New York and Cleveland.
“County Clare was his stronghold,” said Fr. Cremin of Fr. Moloney’s native county. “He never forgot them, and certainly held onto them all his life.”
Notable was Fr. Moloney’s annual organization of fundraising dinner-dances at local Irish centers, Fr. Cremin pointed out, adding that with Fr. Moloney’s “strong Irish Brogue … I think that endeared a lot of people to him.”
Only a few weeks ago, Fr. Moloney had assisted at Chicago’s County Clare Association dinner-dance.
Fr. Cremin said his friend was always available to the priests in the Downriver area, such as helping out on weekends: “We must have had over 25 priests at his funeral.”
“A lot of those pastors appreciated the help he gave them when they were away or short,” Fr. Cremin said. “He was almost like a ‘rent-a-priest!’”
Fr. Cremin, who saved one of Fr. Moloney’s funeral memorial cards, said the St. Augustine quotation on the back summarizes Fr. Moloney’s ministry: “With you I am a Christian, for you, I am a priest.”
Fr. Moloney was preceded in death by his father, Peter. He is survived by his loving mother, Delia, as well as his brothers, Michael (Vivian) and Patrick; sisters, Maureen and Margaret; and nieces and nephews.
Internment is in the Immaculate Conception Church Cemetery in County Clare, Ireland.
Condolences to the Pallottine Fathers, 3352 Fourth St., Wyandotte, MI 48192. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Pallottine Fathers, 424 Orange St., Wyandotte, MI 48192.
