Name: Cyril “Cy” Will, permanent deacon for the Diocese of Evansville
Parish: Member of Good Shepherd Parish, Evansville, since 1981.
Married, number of children, grandchildren: Married to Pat for the past 41 years; three children and seven grandchildren.
What are three words that describe you? Caring, merciful, and forgiving. If I had to choose one it would probably be forgiving. I had a priest once tell me that when he was ordained he believed that 50 percent of the world’s problems were due to unforgiveness. After his 10th year of ordination he adjusted that to 75 percent. After his 25th year of ordination he again adjusted it to 90 percent. I have to agree with him. Jesus tells us that we must forgive not seven times but 70 times seven times. Can you imagine what a great world this would be to live in if we did that?
Where did you grow up? How many brothers and sisters did you have? I was born at home out on Pollack Avenue in Evansville in my grandparents’ house. When I was born, the cord was wrapped around my neck, and they didn’t think I was going to live, so my grandmother baptized me. There were actually three families living in this house: my grandma and grandpa, our family (I was number eight of 12 children), plus my dad’s brother and his family (they had 11 children). It was a big, two-story farmhouse, and it was very crowded with all of us living there together! Shortly after I was born, my dad moved us up to Newburgh to farm at my mom’s home place. I grew up in Newburgh and went to school at St. John the Baptist. I was in the last class to graduate in the old school on Jennings Street.
What was your first job? My first job at home was helping mom. There were five brothers older than me, so my dad had a lot of help in the fields. My oldest sister was nun, and two of the other girls were younger than me, so I became mom’s helper. She taught me how to cook, and I helped her clean the house.
Where do you work now? I am currently a pastoral associate at St. John’s in Daylight. I help schedule all the ministers for Mass, give homilies periodically, and I assist in marriage and baptismal preparation. I am the RCIA coordinator for Good Shepherd and St. John’s, and served on the diocesan RCIA Commission. My wife has been a catechist, and she was a DRE at one of the bases where we lived when I was in the military.
Who influenced you growing up? Who was a hero to you? My parents. They had the most influence because they were very faithful to the church. One of the things I remember vividly is my mom leading the rosary every night before we went to bed. We all had to kneel while saying the rosary. She always had this list of prayers she said after the rosary, too.
Who do you consider to be a hero today? Father Ted Tempel, who was our pastor at Good Shepherd. If there was ever a person on this earth right now who does what Jesus did, it is Father Tempel. Another person is my current employer, Father Deig. He is really a man of wisdom. He will be 80 years old in July … the oldest active pastor in the diocese.
What are your early memories of church? Before Vatican II, you couldn’t even drink water after midnight if you were going to receive communion the next day. I was 12 years old before we had indoor plumbing. We had a water bucket, and at midnight on Saturday night, there would be a cover over it to remind us not to drink the water! I always looked forward to going to church. Our family would take up two pews because there was so many of us! I enjoyed going to the special services, like 40 Hours or the ones during Lent. The church would be full, and to get a seat, you had to get there early.
What is a time in your life when you had to rely on your faith? The year I spent in Vietnam was the longest year in my life. It was very difficult to be so far from my wife and two children. I was stationed at an Air Force base. It was actually pretty secure, and the whole time I was there, only one person was killed at the base due to incoming rockets. We had a chapel on the post, and I went to Mass as much as possible. I had my rosary with me, and I said that every day before I went to bed. I wasn’t really terrified, because I knew whatever the situation was, the Lord would take care of me.
You have been a deacon for 15 years. What led you to this vocation? At first, I wanted to be a priest. Every year, our pastor took the eighth graders to St. Meinrad for a visit, and two of us from our class decided to attend high school at the seminary. There were 117 in our freshman class at St. Meinrad. Bishop Gettelfinger was my table prefect that first year. After my second year at St. Meinrad, I was asked to leave because I could not comprehend Latin. Today, when I look back at this, I realize that this was God’s way of telling me I wasn’t called to be a priest; He wanted me to be a deacon, instead. After high school, I enlisted in the Air Force in 1960 and stayed in the service for 21 years. The last year I was in the Air Force, we were stationed in Washington, D.C. I remember seeing this man at Mass every Sunday who was wearing a stole that was different from the one the priest wore. I found out he was a deacon, and it came to me that maybe God was calling me to be a deacon, too. Later, after we moved back to Evansville, I saw a flyer explaining the diaconate, so I decided to apply for the program. I was ordained in 1990 after five years of preparation.
Have you encountered a miracle or God’s intervention in your life? There are several times in my life when I thought the Lord touched me. The first time was when I made a Cursillo. We took turns spending time in the chapel alone. There was no one in there with me, but I felt someone touching my shoulder. The second time was when I was ordained. When the bishop laid his hands on me, I actually felt the Holy Spirit. It’s hard to explain to people what that is. We always have said the Trinity is a mystery of life. You can’t see the Holy Sprit, but it is what keeps you going, every day of your life. There is no way I’d be up there preaching if it wasn’t for the Holy Spirit … I’m only the instrument.
How do you see God present in nature? When we moved here in 1981, there was a small 5- or 6-foot pine tree on the other side of our backyard fence that was about 90 percent dead. Its pine needles were mostly all brown. I thought at the time that I sure hope that tree doesn’t die. It wasn’t on my property, so I didn’t know if I should do anything to it or not. As time went by the tree started to come out of it. It is now about 30 to 40 feet tall and as green as any other pine tree around. When I look at that tree, it reminds me of the scripture parable where the master of a fig tree wants to cut the tree down because it wasn’t bearing fruit. My tree is a reminder to me that no matter how down in the pit or gutter we may be, God is there to help us back. All we have to do is ask.
Why is stewardship important? If you really want to look at it, everything we have comes from God … it is all His. He’s not asking for 100 percent … He just wants 10 percent back. I’ve never worried about making it financially. The Lord’s going to take care of you if you give to the Lord what He asks. When I got out of the service, I didn’t have a job and our three kids were still in school – not even in college yet! I knew God was going to take care of me. There may be a lot of hardship involved, but stewardship is something we all need to do. We need to ask ourselves, “Are we doing what we should be doing? Are we giving back to God of not only our treasure, but of our time and talent?” Everybody has something to offer.
Tell us about a favorite saint. My favorite saint is St. Cyril of Jerusalem. I was born on his feast day, March 18. He is known as the “teacher of catechumens.” He was a bishop of Jerusalem.
What makes a success? This makes me think back to my early years in grade school. I was brought into this world to know, love, and serve God, and I do that by serving other people. I guess that is why He chose me to be a deacon. I think knowing that I have made a difference in other peoples’ lives is success. I’m not very good at explaining my faith to other people, but I’ve always been a believer that we teach by example more than anything else, so I try to live my life as Jesus taught us to live. I tell my RCIA candidates and catechumens to do the same. Young children, especially, are going to do what you do more so than what you say.
What’s the best advice you ever received? My dad and mom always told us to never lie to anybody and always be honest. If you do that, you’ll never have to explain yourself.
