Parish family,
Please find below the funeral arrangements and obituary for our founding pastor Reverend Gerald E. Tivy. Let us gather together as a community to celebrate his life and pray for the repose of his soul.
______Reverend Gerald E. Tivy entered eternal life on June 13, 2026 — The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Jerry Tivy was born in Chicago on June 5, 1938 to Thomas Biggy and Mary Meehan Biggy and was baptized at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Chicago. When Jerry was just three years old, his father died. Several years later, his mother married John Tivy, who adopted "the three Tivy boys"... Thomas, Gerald, and Richard. "Daddy Tivy" provided a loving and happy home for the family. Jerry graduated from the parish grade school and entered Quigley Seminary in Chicago. After graduation from Quigley, he continued his studies at Holy Cross Seminary in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, studying for the Diocese of Joliet. After graduation from Holy Cross Seminary, he completed his graduate studies in theology at Saint Procopius Seminary in Lisle.
Father Tivy was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Joliet on May 23, 1964 in the Cathedral of Saint Raymond Nonnatus, and, the next day, he celebrated his First Solemn High Mass of Thanksgiving on Pentecost Sunday at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Chicago. Before ordination to the priesthood, he served as a deacon at Saint Joseph Church in Downers Grove. His first assignment as a priest was to Saint Joseph Church in Addison. In October of 1967 he was transferred to Saint Petronille Church in Glen Ellyn. In September of 1970 he returned to Saint Joseph Church in Downers Grove to serve as Parochial Vicar. In June 1971 he was assigned to Visitation Church in Elmhurst. In 1974 he was transferred to Saint Dominic Church in Bolingbrook. In March of 1976 Bishop Blanchette assigned him as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anne Church in Oswego, and to further studies in the Sacred Liturgy at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, where he earned a Masters Degree in the Sacred Liturgy.
In 1976, after obtaining the Masters Degree, Bishop Romeo Blanchette appointed Father Tivy the Founding Director of the Office of Divine Worship for the Diocese of Joliet. In 1978 he left Oswego, opened the Office of Divine Worship full time, and took up residence at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Lockport, where he taught Liturgy, Church History, and served as a spiritual director and prefect for the high school seminarians. During his years of residence at the Seminary, Father also served as the Chaplain to the Joliet Franciscan Sisters at their Motherhouse in Joliet and also to the Christian Brothers serving at Lewis University.
While working to establish the Office of Divine Worship, with the assistance of Sister Joan Tabat, SSSF, and under the direction of Bishop Blanchette, Father Tivy was instrumental in training the priests and parishes throughout the Diocese in the celebration of the Mass and Sacraments beginning in the late 1960's, in accord with the liturgical reform and changes mandated by the Second Vatican Council. He also established and maintained liturgical ministry training for the laity of the Diocese and offered continual liturgical instruction of the clergy. He established the liturgical training programs used in the Permanent Diaconate Program, and was, under both Bishop Blanchette and Bishop Imesch, instrumental in establishing the pattern and style of our Cathedral/Pontifical Liturgies celebrated in the Cathedral and throughout the Diocese for various occasions. He coordinated all Diocesan liturgies and served as the Master of Ceremonies to our Bishops throughout his years in the Office of Divine Worship. In 1979 he founded the Joliet Diocesan Chorale, placing it under the direction of Sister Joan Tabat, and later, Nick Thomas. The choir provided music for Diocesan ceremonies for more than 30 years. For a few years after leaving the Office of Worship, while pastor of Saint Joan of Arc, Father Tivy was asked to teach the Liturgical Practicums to the Transitional Deacons at Mundelein Seminary. Throughout his tenure, as Father Tivy served our Bishops as the Master of Ceremonies, his expertise, gracious demeanor, and refined liturgical style was welcomed, appreciated, and respected by the Bishops he so lovingly and faithfully served.
In 1982 Father was appointed the pastor of Saint Joseph Church in Manhattan. In 1988, when he left the Office of Worship, Bishop Imesch appointed Father Tivy the Founding Pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Aurora. The congregation rapidly grew from the original 54 founding families and Father Tivy built the rectory, offices, and the church. He served as pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish until June 2000 when Bishop Imesch appointed him Pastor of Saint Joan of Arc Church in Lisle. He retired as pastor in 2008. However, in 2010, Bishop Peter Sartain asked him to serve as Administrator of Saint Isaac Jogues Church in Hinsdale, during a time of transition for the parish. In September of 2010 the Bishop asked him to accept the Pastorate at Holy Trinity Church in Westmont, where he served until June 2011. He officially retired in June 2015, but continued to offer assistance to Saint Isaac Jogues Church, Hinsdale; Visitation Church, Elmhurst; Mary Queen of Heaven Church, Elmhurst, and wherever else he was asked to assist.
In April of 2021 his brother, Father Thomas Tivy of the Archdiocese of Chicago, died. In July of 2021 Father moved from the condo he shared with his brother to Saint John Vianney Villa in Naperville. In September of that year, he suffered a serious stroke and heart attack. After rehab, because he needed more specific care, he moved to Saint Joseph Home for the Elderly in Palatine, Illinois, sponsored by the Little Sisters of the Poor. Father Tivy lived under the Sisters’ care for the next four years and was a beloved priest and resident in the home. He loved the Sisters and was most appreciative of the love and care they gave him as his health continued to decline and his dementia rapidly progressed. Father Tivy died peacefully on June 13th at 11:20pm as the Little Sisters of the Poor, gathered around his bed keeping 24-hour vigil, chanted the Salve Regina. The Sisters provided him with beautiful care to the end and were with him when he passed.
Father Tivy was preceded in death by his beloved uncle, Monsignor Thomas Meehan (Archdiocese of Chicago); his mother, Mary Meehan Tivy; his father, Thomas Biggy; his beloved step-father John Tivy; his brothers, Reverend Thomas Tivy of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Richard (Noelle and Annette Clauson) Tivy; and his nephews, Michael Tivy, Paul Clauson, and Glenn Clauson. He is survived by his nieces and nephews: Mary Tivy (Ed) Kolodziejski, Richard (Nancy) Tivy, John Tivy, Connie Clauson (Rich) Gjertsen, Chris Clauson and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Funeral Arrangements for Father Gerald Tivy
Tuesday, June 23rd 4-8pm
Wake in church with a Vigil Service at 7pm (livestreamed).
Our Lady of Mercy Church
701 E. Eola Road
Aurora, IL 60504
Wednesday, June 24th
The body of Father Tivy will lie in state, 9-11am.
11am Mass of Christian Burial
Saints Peter and Paul Church
36 N. Ellsworth Street
Naperville, IL 60540
Interment will be at All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois
*Memorial Gifts:
Little Sisters of the Poor
Saint Joseph Home for the Elderly
80 West Northwest Highway
Palatine, Illinois 60067
Eternal rest grant unto Father Tivy, O Lord, let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.