Deacon Dave Sekel dies March 11 at age 72

COLORADO SPRINGS. Deacon David Sekel died March 11 at age 72 due to renal cell cancer.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated April 5 at 10 a.m. at Divine Redeemer Church, with Bishop James Golka presiding. The funeral Mass will also be livestreamed at: https://www.youtube.com/@DivineRedeemerCOSprings/streams. An inurnment service at St. John Neumann columbarium in Austin, Texas will be scheduled for a later date.

Deacon Sekel was born May 19, 1952, in Cambridge, Ohio. He earned a bachelor’s degree in forestry from Muskingum Technical Institute and enlisted in the U.S. Army. During the Vietnam War, he was stationed at Fort Carson, serving as a Sergeant for Forward Artillery.

He married his wife Pat in 1974, and the couple moved to Athens, Ohio, where Deacon Sekel earned degrees in geology. He worked as an exploration geologist in Houston, Texas before taking a job in Austin, Texas, with Dell Computer as a project manager.  Among his tasks was protecting Dell systems and computers around the world from problems related to the start of the new millennium.

Several years later, he discerned a call to the permanent diaconate and was ordained Feb. 6, 2010 in the Diocese of Austin. He served three years at St. John Neumann Parish in Austin and six years at Our Lady of Hope Parish in Port Orange, Florida. Deacon Sekel and Pat moved to Colorado Springs in 2019, where he served at Divine Redeemer Parish and as a chaplain for Catholic Charities of Central Colorado. 

Deacon Sekel is survived by his wife, Pat; and his daughter, Melissa Jackowski of Springfield, Oregon.