Redemptorist Father Wilfred Lowery, 97, died Nov. 10 in Liguori, Missouri. He left a lasting legacy in Thailand and continued to minister to Thai and Laotian immigrant communities throughout the United States well into his 90s.

Born in St. Louis, he made his first profession of vows in 1944 and his perpetual vows in 1947.

He was ordained in 1949, and was sent to serve the poor in Thailand in 1951. After studying the language and serving as a pastor in the Udon Thani Prefecture and in Nongkhai he served as bursar and vice superior in Bangkok. He was serving as vicar general of the Diocese of Udon Thani when health issues prompted his return to the United States.

He directed retreats and worked for the Redemptorist Mission Office while stationed at Villa Redeemer in Glenview (1976-1981) and was assigned as an itinerant preacher with outreach to Laotian immigrants at St. Michael Parish in Chicago (1987-1990).

After serving in Kansas in Missouri, he returned to Chicago as director of his community’s Foreign Mission Office in 1996, and retained that position when he moved back to Villa Redeemer to serve as local superior a year later. He served there until moving to Minnesota in 2000.