THE REVEREND R. JOSEPH LeVAY, 84, retired Pastor of St. Patrick's Church
in Hinsdale and St. Matthew's Church in Becket, died Sunday, December 30, at his
home, 46 Whittier Street, in Florence, Massachusetts.
Born in Northampton , September 23, 1923, the son of Joseph R. and Dora C.
Venne LeVay, he attended elementary school in Leeds and was a 1941 graduate of
Northampton High School. He attended St. Charles College in Catonsville, Maryland,
and was a graduate of the Seminary of Philosophy and the Grand Seminary of
Theology, both in Montreal, Canada.
Fr. LeVay was ordained a Roman Catholic priest on June 3, 1950, at St.
Michael's Cathedral in Springfield by the late Most Rev. Christopher J. Weldon, Bishop
of the Springfield Diocese.
He received permission to enter the United States Navy as a Chaplain, where he
spent three years serving in the Pacific and Great Lakes Naval Hospital He later received
permission to enter the United States Air force as a Chaplain where he spent three and a
half years serving in Little Rock Arkansas, Germany, Italy, and Lincoln, Nebraska.
His first assignment was All Saints Church in Ware, as Assistant Pastor. Upon
his return from military service, Fr. LeVay served as Assistant Pastor of Our Lady of the
Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Hope parishes, both in Springfield, and a short stay at St.
Mary's Church in Orange, Massachusetts.
On February 27, 1971, Fr. LeVay came to Hinsdale to serve as Pastor of St.
Patrick's Church there and at St. Matthew's Church in Becket. This was his only parish
as Pastor. He retired in 2003.
Fr. LeVay is survived by two brothers, Rene J. "Mac" LeVay of Westhampton,
and Bradley J. LeVay and his wife, Carolyn, of Leeds; two sisters, Pearl D. Bryant and
Rita L. Pollard both of Florence, and many nieces and nephews.
He was pre-deceased by two brothers, Paul LeVay and Roland LeVay, and two
sisters, Fern M. LeVay and Martha Landry.

FUNERAL NOTICE: A Liturgy of Christian Burial for REV. R. JOSEPH LeVAY, who entered into
eternal life peacefully at his home on Sunday, December 30, will be Friday, January 4, at
10:00 a.m., at Our Lady of the Hills Parish at St. Mary's Church in Haydenville,
celebrated by Most Rev. Timothy A. McDonnell, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese
of Springfield. Burial will follow in St. Mary of the Assumption Cemetery in
Haydenville. Fr. LeVay will lie in state at St. Patrick's Church in Hinsdale on Thursday,
January 3, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. with a Vigil Service to follow at 7:00 p.m. In lieu of
flowers, contributions in memory of Fr. LeVay may be made to the Sisters of the
Visitation in Tyringham, Massachusetts, or to the V.N.A./Hospice of Cooley-Dickinson,
both in care of DERY-FOLEY FUNERAL HOME, 890 East Main Street, Dalton, MA
01226.