MENDOTA - Father Dale R. Maloy, 91, of Mendota died June 17, 2019 at his home.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 22 at Holy Cross Church with the Most Reverend Bishop Daniel R. Jenky C.S.C. and Father Gary Blake officiating. Burial will be at Holy Cross Cemetery, Mendota. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, June 21 with a 4:15 p.m. Rosary at the Merritt Funeral Home, Mendota. A brief visitation will be held from 9:30 to 10 a.m. prior to Mass on June 22 at the funeral home for family and clergy arriving from out-of-town that morning.

Father Maloy was born April 9, 1928 in Sublette to Ralph and Frances (Full) Maloy.

Survivors include one niece, Susan Brown (Alan) Urso of Earlville; one great-nephew, Dan (Susan) Bohn of Rockton; and a great-niece, Amy Bohn of Atlanta, Ga.

He was preceded in death by his parents; an older sister, Marjorie, who died in infancy, and another sister, Marian (Maloy) Brown in 2018; a brother-in-law, Benton Brown in 2013; and two long time housekeepers, Katie Gripentrog from St. Theresa in Earlville who died in 1989 and Rita Mae Aubry from Holy Rosary in LaSalle who died in 2012.

Father Maloy graduated from Mendota High School in 1946 and Saint Ambrose in Davenport, Iowa in 1950. He then attended Saint Paul Seminary in Minnesota for four years, followed by ordination into the priesthood in Peoria in 1954. His first Mass was said at Holy Cross Church in Mendota. He was an assistant pastor at Visitation in Kewanee, Sacre Coeur in Creve Coeur and St. Mark’s in Peoria. He was pastor at Saint John in Walnut for a brief period, St. Theresa in Earlville for 16 years, and Holy Rosary in LaSalle for 16 years. During his retirement years, he resided in Mendota. He was with the Marriage Tribunal in Peoria for 10 years as an advocate and 20 years as a judge.

Father Maloy was a great sportsman. He played summer baseball in the Illinois Valley and in 1946 attended the national tournament in Dayton, Ohio, where Jim “Stymie” Schmitt was the pitcher and he was the catcher. He later played semi-pro baseball. While at Saint Ambrose, he played tennis and the team won the Iowa Conference Championship. He was an avid golfer, hunter, and downhill skier.

Memorials may be directed to Holy Cross Church.