SUMMERVILLE — Father David Joseph Schiller, a retired priest of the Diocese of Charleston, passed away on June 10.
A vigil service was held June 13, and a Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on June 14, both at St. Theresa the Little Flower Church in Summerville.
Father Schiller was born on Dec. 25, 1922, in Philadelphia to Joseph T. and Mary Toland Schiller. He received his primary education at St. George Parochial School in Glen Olden, Pa., and his secondary education at West Philadelphia Catholic High School.
Father Schiller attended Holy Cross Preparatory Seminary in Dunkirk, N.Y., and St. John’s Home Missions Seminary in Little Rock, Ark. He was ordained to the priesthood in Philadelphia on May 19, 1955, by Archbishop John Francis O’Hara.
In the Diocese of Charleston, Father Schiller was appointed associate pastor of St. Patrick’s in Charleston from 1955 to 1957 and St. Paul’s in Spartanburg from 1957 to 1961.
Father Schiller served as pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea in North Myrtle Beach from 1961 to 1973, Holy Family in Hilton Head from 1973 to 1979, and Our Lady of Lourdes in Greenwood from 1979 to 1988 with pastoral duties at Sacred Heart in Abbeville for a brief time in 1985. From 1988 to 1997, Father Schiller served as the first full-time pastor of St. Theresa the Little Flower Church.
While serving in parishes across the state, Father Schiller was also on the faculty at Bishop England High School, an assistant director of Camp St. Mary in Ridgeland, deanery director of Radio and Television in Greenville, chaplain of the Newman Club for the College of Charleston, moderator of the Council of Catholic Men in the Florence Deanery, member of the Diocesan Building Commission, and chaplain at several state and private health facilities.
Memorials may be sent to: St. Theresa the Little Flower Church Building Fund, 11001 Dorchester Road, Summerville, SC 29485.
Messages of condolence may be sent to his sisters: Agnes Toner, 4 Fetlock Lane, Bluebell, PA 19422; Alice Freda, 518 Broadview Ave., Upper Darby, PA 19082.