Father Ray Stratman loved people and the priesthood

By Cross Roads staff

Father Raymond Richard Stratman died Nov. 21 at Taylor Manor Nursing Home in Versailles, Ky. He was 88 years old and had served as a priest for 62 years. Recalled for his love of the priesthood and the people he served, he had many friends going back to before the beginning of his ministry.

Born in 1932 to Robert J. and Florence (Huesma) Stratman, he attended Holy Cross School in Latonia, Ky., where he met classmate Bob Nieberding in 1938. The two would remain friends for the rest of Stratman’s life, playing baseball in their childhood summers, vacationing together — often with their mothers — for decades and enjoying golf and Scrabble on their days off.

“He was most compassionate, understanding, patient and kind. He reached out to those in need and was always ready to go the extra mile,” said Father Nieberding, who now serves as vicar general of the Catholic Diocese of Lexington.

Stratman attended St. Meinrad Minor and Major Seminary, as well as St. Patrick’s College in Maynooth, Ireland, where Bishop William T. Mulloy sent Stratman and another seminarian, Bob Urlage. Covington seminarians who had previously studied in Ireland all had Irish roots.

“Ray and Bob were true blue German,” Father Nieberding recalled. “The bishop tried to find an Irish connection. He asked about their mothers’ maiden names. They were just as German. Finally the bishop said ‘You’ll enjoy Ireland anyway.’”

Stratman’s time in Ireland allowed him to travel to the Holy Land, Rome, Germany and France. He was ordained a deacon in Ireland in 1957 and a priest at the Cathedral Basilica in Covington, Ky., on June 28, 1958. The first 15 years of Father Stratman’s priesthood were spent in various teaching and parish associate posts.

“Very early in his priesthood he became actively involved in the Cursillo movement,” said Father Nieberding. “He often served as chaplain both for men’s and for women’s Cursillo. He shared with me the influence of this in his own spiritual life.”

In 1974, Father Stratman became dean of men at St. Pius X Seminary in Erlanger, as well as director of vocations and chaplain for the Northern Kentucky Serra Club. He served as chaplain of St. Charles Nursing Home in Covington beginning in 1976.

His first assignment as pastor was at St. Aloysius in Covington, beginning in 1978. He began serving as spiritual director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society the following year. He served as pastor at St. Mark in Richmond from 1983 to 1990, during which time the Catholic Diocese of Lexington was formed out of the Covington diocese.

After a sabbatical at the University of Notre Dame, Father Stratman served as pastor at St. Leo in Versailles from 1990 till his retirement in 1997. In 1996, he took on the role of associate vocation director.

Father David Wheeler, one of the youngest priests of the diocese, ordained in 2019, cited Father Stratman as an influence in his own vocation. He encountered him in his retirement when he came to St. Ann in Manchester to celebrate the Triduum at the small mission community.

“Father Ray shone with the joy of his priesthood and his love for all those with whom he came into contact,” said Father Wheeler. He added that Father Stratman was “an example of joy and fulfillment of a priestly vocation that is lived well” and "a voice of constant encouragement to me on my path toward the priesthood."

From 1997-2000, Father Stratman served as vicar for retired priests and as spiritual advisor for the diocesan Cursillo movement. From 2015-16, he returned to nursing home chaplaincy at Taylor Manor in Versailles and from 2016-20 lived in residence at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Lexington.

Father Paul Prabell, rector of Christ the King, said he will miss cheering on the Reds, the Bengals and UK with Father Stratman, as well as hearing stories of his seminary life in Ireland, his jokes and his prayer before dinner, which always included the souls of the faithful departed.

“Father Ray was often the first stop for someone seeking to return to the practice of our faith. He had long time friends from all over Kentucky and beyond,” said Father Prabell. “It has been a blessing for our parish, for the priests who have served here, and certainly for me to have had him living his last years with us at our rectory. We were all inspired by and enjoyed his sweet spirit and deep faith.”

“He was a man of prayer ever faithful to his God, his Church, his family and friends and to the people he served,” said Father Nieberding. “To know Father Ray was to love him. ‘Everybody Loves Raymond.’”

Father Stratman’s funeral Mass is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 28, at Christ the King in Lexington. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, those wishing to attend are encouraged to register online in advance. The funeral Mass will also be streamed via the cathedral’s YouTube channel and Facebook page: http://cathedralctk.org/howtostream