obtained

obtained. Father Lawrence Berger ended his service there on July 1, 1981. Charles P. Schumacher took his place and served until at least 1983. Several priests at Chili also served as the chaplain for Columbus Catholic Schools in Marshfield.

Joseph N. Henseler, longtime Neillsville pastor, was appointed pastor of St. Stephen’s in 1995 in addition to his Neillsville duties. He conducted one Mass in Chili each weekend. However, the assignment was short-lived, as the parish was officially “suppressed” (closed) on May 3, 1998, according to Catholic Diocese of La Crosse records.

After the church closed, the members were scattered, with some starting to attend services in Neillsville, many going to Loyal, and a few going to Marshfield. The Neillsville parish continued to oversee the property. Woodrow Pace was appointed priest at Neillsville in July 2000. Sometime after that, the church building in Chili was emptied out and demolished. People salvaged items to prevent them from being destroyed.

“I remember that day. I came to look at it one last time before it went down,” said Jody Conner of Neillsville, who grew up attending St. Stephen’s. “Father Pace’s Jeep was sitting there and it was packed with altar items, just a variety of stuff. I ended up going back in and loading my station wagon with a bunch of things — candle holders, statues, I can’t remember all what I took.”

Conner said that moment marked the end of an era, after the church had served the community for almost 100 years.

“It was the last era of the big Catholic family when I was attending,” said Conner. “That was back in the 60s and 70s. But you also have to remember at that time Chili had a hardware store, a grocery store, two taverns, a feed mill — it was a busy town.”

He remembers there frequently being events going on at the church, whether it was evening Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) classes, summer school, “the greatest” chicken dinners, or other potlucks and get-togethers.