Edmond J. Speitel, Priest Who Lived In Ocean City, Passes Away

OCEAN CITY, N.J. — When every man was joining the Army, Edmond J. Speitel knew, at 18, that he wanted to be a priest. Rev. Speitel, a decorated Army chaplain who retired to and led Mass in Ocean City, died Tuesday of pneumonia. He was 93.

Speitel served as an Army chaplain from 1962 to 1988. He had served in World War II in the South Pacific. He asked for active duty in 1964 and survived a helicopter crash in Vietnam, according to The Press of Atlantic City.

Father Speitel started his career after his 1955 ordination at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, according to philly.com. He served under six popes as a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Diocese of Camden for 60 years.

In 1996, Speitel retired to Ocean City. He said Mass when needed at churches of St. Damien Parish, including St. Frances Cabrini, St. Augustine, and Our Lady of Good Counsel.

He loved his family and friends, Ocean City, the 76ers, golf, college basketball, the Phillies, writing, crossword puzzles, bridge, smoking a pipe, and playing poker, according to philly.com.

Speitel is survived by three sisters and 132 nieces, nephews, grand- and great-nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory to St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, 100 E. Wynnewood Rd., Wynnewood PA 19096 would be appreciated, according to his obituary.

See below. Speitel was the guest speaker at a Veterans Day Service in Ocean City in 2011:

Click here to get Patch email notifications on this or other local news articles or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Follow Ocean City Patch on Facebook. Have a news tip? Email josh.bakan@patch.com.