Father Joseph William Julius, Jr.

Father Joseph William Julius, Jr., beloved Catholic priest for more than 60 years, died of cancer-related health problems in the late afternoon on February 3rd, 2006. He was an assisting priest at St. Francis Catholic Church in Townsend for twelve years and most recently a retired priest in residence at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Alcoa. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, September 1, 1920, the son of Joseph William Julius and Lillian Marie Bleke Julius, both originally from St. Louis. He graduated from Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Memphis and was a graduate of both Saint Ambrose University in Des Moines, Iowa, and Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He completed additional graduate study in theology at Notre Dame University and at Rome, Italy. A priest of the Diocese of Nashville, Father Julius was ordained on June 2, 1945 at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville. Assignments as a priest included many years as an inspirational and popular teacher of religion, chemistry and physics at Father Ryan Catholic High School in Nashville. Ministries as assistant pastor of the Cathedral of the Incarnation, chaplain Overbrook School, chaplain St. Bernard Academy, chaplain Little Sisters of the Poor all in Nashville; pastor of the Churches of St. Philip, Franklin; St. Thomas Aquinas, Cookeville; St. Patrick, Nashville; St. Mary, Oak Ridge; Sacred Heart in Knoxville and St. Paul in Tullahoma. He is survived by his sister, Lillian Julius Nichols of Little Rock, Arkansas, her sons, Philip and William Nichols; his brother Edward Bleke Julius, Sr., and sister-in-law, Elizabeth Julius, their sons and daughter, Edward Julius, Jr., Michael Julius and Mary Ann Ralph, two grand nieces and one grand nephew, all of Memphis. He was a steady and caring friend to all who knew him. He was also an avid ham radio operator whose call sign was W4DQG. A Memorial Mass will be on Tuesday, February 7th at 11:00 AM at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Knoxville; Bishop Joseph Kurtz of the Diocese of Knoxville will be the principal celebrant and joined by priests of the Dioceses of Knoxville and Nashville. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 7:00 PM Tuesday, February 7th, at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Knoxville with a Vigil Service at 7 pm. Visitation in Nashville will be Wednesday, February 8th from 10 am to 1 pm (C.S.T.) at the Cathedral of the Incarnation followed by a Funeral Mass at 1 pm (C.S.T.) with Fr. Choby, Bishop-elect of the Diocese of Nashville, as the principal celebrant and joined by the priests of the Dioceses of Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis. Internment will be in Nashville at the priest’s section in Calvary Cemetery.