Bliven, Fr. Robert James, O.S.C.
Fr. Robert James Bliven, O.S.C., a member of the Crosier Fathers and Brothers Catholic Religious Order, died Sunday, January 3 in Phoenix at the age of 79.
Fr. Bliven was born on February 4, 1930 in Grand Forks, N.D. He attended Crosier Seminary in Onamia, Minn., from 1945 to 1950. Fr. Bliven made his first profession of vows on August 28, 1951 and was ordained a Catholic priest on May 26, 1956 in Fort Wayne, IN. Fr. Bliven served as associate pastor at St. Louis the King Parish in Glendale from 1988 to 1990 and from 1995 to 2001. He also provided assistance at the parishes of St. James, St. Paul, St. Thomas the Apostle and St. Jerome in Phoenix in the 1990s. Fr. Bliven had lived at Capri Care Center in Phoenix since April 2006. Fr. Bliven is survived by sisters Adeline Lemieux and Doris Jeffry; brother Jerome and his longtime girlfriend Donna Hallick; brother William and his wife, Mary; and brother-in-law Earl LaBrecque. Fr. Bliven was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Eva; his sisters Gladys Bruce and Shirley LaBrecque; and brother-in-laws Neil Bruce, Dallas Lemieux and Cliff Jeffry.
Visitation will be held from 6:00-9:00 p.m. with a Scripture Service at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home, 4800 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix. On Thursday, January 7, a Visitation will begin at 10:00 am, followed at 10:30 am by a Funeral Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 1421 S. 12th Street, Phoenix. Interment will be at Crosier Cemetery in Onamia, Minn., at a later date.
Memorials preferred to the Crosier Fathers and Brothers, 4332 N. 24th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85016.
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