Rev. William J. Cracknell, CSV, a priest for 35 years, died July 12, 1968 at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village, IL after a long illness. He was 76.
A native Chicagoan, Fr. Cracknell entered the Clerics of St. Viator novitiate in Chicago at the age of 17 and pronounced his first vows July 4, 1911. He was educated at St. Patrick High School in Chicago, St. Viator College in Bourbonnais and at the Sulpician Seminary and Catholic University of America, both in Washington DC.
On December 17, 1932, Fr. Cracknell was ordained a priest by Bishop James Griffin at St. Joseph Church in Springfield, IL.
He served as the registrar at St. Viator College for nearly 15 years, and in later years, he served as chaplain at a number of institutions, notably St. Luke’s Hospital in Aberdeen, SD and the Novitiate of the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal, in Bourbonnais. He was well known for his devotion in visiting the sick.
In 1957, Fr. Cracknell was named master of novices at Our Lady of Arlington Novitiate in Arlington Heights, IL, where he served six years in that office. At the time of his death, Fr. Cracknell was spiritual director at the Viatorian Scholasticate in Chicago.
Funeral services were held July 16 at St. Viator Church in Chicago. Bishop Alfred Abramowicz presided and gave the absolution. The Rev. John W. Stafford, CSV, Viatorian provincial at the time, served as principal celebrant at the funeral Mass, and the Rev. John F. Brown, CSV, a former provincial, delivered the homily.
Fr. Cracknell was laid to rest in the Viatorian plot at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, IL.
Taken from a Viatorian press release, date unknown