p3-obit.jpgALTON - Father Roger Schoenhofen, OMI, pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul Parish, died Feb. 25 at St. John's Mercy Hospital in St. Louis.

He was born Jan. 3, 1941, in Belleville, son of the late Oliver and Ruth Erhardt Schoenhofen. He made his first profession as an Oblate of Mary Immaculate in 1961 at the Oblate novitiate in Godfrey. He studied at the Oblate Scholasticate in Pass Christian, Miss., and was ordained to the priesthood on Dec. 17, 1966 by Bishop Albert Zuroweste.

Father Schoenhofen's first assignment was as a teacher at St. Henry's Seminary, Belleville. He was co-pastor of West End Catholic Parish in Duluth, Minn., from 1979-1981. Back in Illinois, he was a teacher and counselor at St. Henry's Prep Seminary in Belleville (1981-1984) and formed the Oblate Youth Mission Team, which conducted retreats for young people, mostly in the Midwest (1985-1992). He was a retreat preacher at King's House Retreat Center in Belleville from 1992 until becoming pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul in Alton in 1998.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Dale Schoenhofen. He is survived by his sister-in-law, Tina (Miller) Schoenhofen of Lisle, a nephew, a niece and a cousin.

The funeral Mass was celebrated Feb. 28, at Ss. Peter and Paul Church, with Bishop George J. Lucas as principal celebrant. Burial was in the Oblate Cemetery in Belleville.

Memorials may be made to Ss. Peter and Paul Parish or to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.