Rev. Lavern Kieber

Lavern Edward Kieber born 27 Jun 1917,  the fourth child of  John Kieber and Anna Theresa Ruhland Kieber in Buffalo NY.

The 1920 US census shows Lavern as a 2 1/2 year old living with his family at 126 May Street, Buffalo. His father John  and his family were from Alsace and spoke French, his mother Anna and her family from Bavaria, spoke German. His dad was a motorman on the street cars. His older brother, Ray, at 18,  was a clerk at the City Bank. Baby brother, Bob was not a year old yet.

An avid reader. On Sunday afternoons, the family often went to visit friends on the Cattauraugus Seneca Indian Reservation. There was a particular family, a squaw, Bob said, that they visited with. Bob would help her with churning the butter while Lert sat in the corner, reading. Bob would also go hunting with the young boy, the same age as Bob. Bob reported how very different the lifestyle of the Indians were from the Kiebers.  They had a dirt floor for instance. Bob remembered how after the boy shot a rabbit with his arrow, he would kneel down and pray for the life of the rabbit.

The NY census of 1925 shows 8 year old Lert living with his family at 620 E. Amherst St. He was attending St. James Parochial school. His older brother Ray, 23,  was a bookkeeper;  sister Florence, 19, was a telephone operator; and brother Clare, 14,was attending high school and 6 year old Bob was attending St. James as well.

As so many boys, particularly in the Kieber family, Lert once told his niece Marie, that he never felt full as a young man. He was particularly known for his Dagwood Sandwiches, named after the comic strip character, Dagwood from the Blondie series. It consisted of with multiple layers of bread and a variety of fillings, especially meats, cheeses, and  condiments.

By 1930, the family had settled at 620 East Amherst St. Buffalo. Laverne was 12 years old and attending school. His dad was a yard foreman for the Steam railroad. Clarence was 19 and a knitter at a knitting mill, Florence, 24, was a telephone operator, and Ray was married and no longer living at home. Bob was 10 and attending school.

The 1940 census shows Lavern still listed as living, though absent, with his family at 620 E.Amherst St. He is 22 years old. his father is now a Steam Hoist Operator for the Railroad. As we know, Lert was attending St.Bonnies.

Lert attended Christ the King Seminary, St.Bonaventure, a Franciscan school in St. Bonaventure NY. The noted monk, Rev.Thomas Merton also attended St. Bonnies. He was ordained a Deacon on Dec. 22, 1940 in St. Joseph’s New Cathedral in Buffalo NY. The Most. Rev. John A. Duffy, bishop of the Buffalo Catholic diocese, officiated. It should be noted, the Rev. Robert Schwab, who would become a lifelong friend of Lavern’s,  was also in this class. Lert was 24 years old on the 7th of June 1941 when he received his Ordination as a Catholic priest. 

In 1940-42, the St. Petersburg FL city directory lists Father Kieber as assistant pastor at St.Mary’s Catholic Church. He lives at 420 5th Avenue S.

As so many young men, including his brothers Robert, and Clare, Lavern enlisted in the US Army. Army Chaplain enlisted army 1944.  He served active duty in Panama Canal Zone for 3 years., from 1945 until 1948.

On Dec.3, 1945, L. Kieber, 28 yrs. old,  is listed as a radio operator on a Pan American airplane embarking from Mexico, arriving in Brownsville TX.

On 22 Sept. 1947 there is a record of Lavern Kieber, embarking on Pan American Airways  from
Balboa Canal Zone to Miami FL. His address is listed as 620 E. Amherst St., which we know as his parents address. He is 30 years old.

He then served as chaplain in the National Guard for 27 years. He retired after 29 years  in the National Guard as Lt. Colonel.

According to Father Zadora of St.Joseph’s Parish in Fredonia NY and as is noted inthe newspaper article from Lert’s Silver Jubilee, Father Kieber returned to the Buffalo area and served as associate pastor  St. Boniface, St.Louis, St. Mary Magdalene, Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary parishes.

When he visited the nieces, he would bring the foil paper cigar rings for them to wear on their fingers. He loved his cigars!

Lert loved kids, especially his grand nieces and nephews, though he didn’t quite  “get” them. One Thanksgiving, he treated his niece and her young children to dinner at the Transit Valley Country Club, where he was a member.  The children, instead of ordering the special Thanksgiving dinner menu, the young ‘uns ordered Hamburgers, which were about 2 lbs. each. They only finished a couple of bites and were full, as to be expected. Uncle Lert was aghast and never brought them to his club again. (77-87)

In 1949 Fr. Kieber became associate past at St. Bartholomew’s. The 1956 Buffalo City Directory shows Lert living at 335 Grider St.Today it is the Bisonette House, a peaceprints prison ministry house, a home for recently released convicts, a ministry of SS. Columba-Brigid R. C. Church. In 1956, Father Kieber was assistant pastor at St. Bartholomew’s Church for 11 years.

Fishing was a passion since childhood for Lert and his younger brother, Bob. He enjoyed many outings on Bob’s small cabin cruiser in New Jersey, The Priscilla.

From 1960-1969 Father Kieber was pastor of St. Augustine Church in Clarence Center, NY. 

In 12 June 1966 the parishioners held a Silver Jubilee on Fr. Kieber’s 25th anniversary of his priesthood with a reception in the parish hall at 8700 Goodrich Rd. That evening there was a dinner dance held in celebration in the Rapids Fire Hall.

Every summer he visited his brother Bob’s large family on the  New Jersey shore. Everyone remembers fondly the Masses he celebrated, with Bob as an altar server,  in the cold room in Locust.  Niece Carolyn remembers Uncle Lert reading and contemplating his breviary every morning while sitting on the redwood chair on the expansive Victorian back porch overlooking the Navesink River.

In 1969 Father Kieber was appointed pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Bowmansville, NY. His address was 5337 Genesee St, Bowmansville, NY, 14026-1034. there was a beautiful stone grotto shrine to the Blessed Virgin in front of the church. The gorgeous Kieber family dining room set, which had once belonged to John and Anna Kieber, remains in the parish rectory. (update: when nieces, Kris Nordby and Carolyn Grady visited in the 1990s, the dining set was no longer there and no one from the parish would admit what had happened to it). Father Kieber lived in Bowmansville until his death in 1990. His grand niece, Judith Kieber-Emmons, is buried in the small cemetery behind the church.

Lavern was an avid golfer. For many years, he and his brother, Robert owned a condominium in Naples, Florida where they could golf to their heart’s content.

Father Kieber died on 19 Jul 1990 in Kenmore Mercy Hospital, Tonawanda NY. He was 73 years  old. Though his official death is listed as from colon cancer, his brother Bob Kieber always believed that that was a secondary cancer that stemmed from a melanoma on his back.

He is buried in Mount Calvary Cemetary,  Cheektowaga NY- Sec. D, Lot 231, Grave 6 beside his parents and brother Ray’s family.