St. Paul HOF: Herb Willman helped usher in new era
Sep. 22—Editor's note: This is the first of eight profiles on the upcoming St. Paul Hall of Fame Class of 2021 inductees.
NORWALK — To understand the level of impact of Herb Willman, a simple look inside a desk drawer speaks volumes.
John Livengood has been at St. Paul High School for over 30 years as a teacher, coach and administrator. He's moved from different rooms on the campus countless times.
But always nearby in his desk drawer at the current athletic director's office is the last letter he ever received from Willman, who died at the age of 72 in August 2002.
The head pastor at St. Paul from 1988-2000, Willman is an honorary inductee in the Class of 2021 in the school's Hall of Fame. The group of inductees will be honored at the Oct. 2 home football game at Contractors Stadium, and with a banquet on Oct. 3 at the Social Hall on Milan Ave.
"He loved being part of this community with the school, the students and athletic teams," Livengood said of Willman. "Just a good man. I was fortunate enough to maintain a lot of contact with him after he retired. He'd stop in whenever he was in the area, and I treasure those moments. That last letter he wrote, it means a lot to me. He was a good man."
Spending parts of 13 years at St. Paul, Willman oversaw many projects in his days as pastor. But none were bigger than his involvement with the construction of the Convocation Center, the $2 million project that was completed in January of 1994.
The building includes a gymnasium (named for Fr. Harvey Keller), performing arts center (named for Joan Camp) and a music room.
It allowed for St. Paul students to stay on campus for many extracurricular events in an up-to-date building — one that even took the closing part of Monroe Street to finish the project.
Willman delegated roles often during the project. Longtime math teacher and volleyball coach Nancy Miller fondly remembers Willman's vision of the convocation center.
"He was just the biggest supporter and believer in St. Paul, especially in the faith of the community," she said. "I still remember him numerous times when we'd talk about things in the future, about building the Convo, and him sitting there in that master plan meeting and telling us 'God will provide.'
"When there were doubts about things, he was just so ... he believed so strongly about the community and how much the St. Paul followers would back that project."
Another memorable image for much of Willman's time at St. Paul was his chef skills.
"The football captains used to go to Mass at 6:15 a.m. on Fridays and he would have us over for breakfast in the rectory," Livengood said. "We'd have breakfast with him and Father Keller. He genuinely liked being around the kids."
Willman was also known to drive around Norwalk on Easter Sunday after the church day was finished. He often delivered homemade candy to different families he knew throughout the parish.
Willman also used to take a group of students to Boyne Mountain in northern Michigan to go on ski trips. He was a frequent visitor there in the summer and winter.
"I remember doing the ski club with him," Miller said. "He was just an awesome skier. I learned so much from him. I went with him as one of the adult chaperones for a couple years, because he also drove the bus there and back."
Willman grew up on a dairy farm and was the oldest of five children (four boys and one girl) of parents Herbert and Anna. Born in Attica, Willman graduated from Attica High School in 1948, then entered the seminary and attended Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus.
After he was ordained in 1957, he was named associate pastor at St. Paul, then had stops at Holy Angels in Sandusky; St. Mary in Vermilion and St. Patrick of Heatherdowns in Toledo.
Willman was appointed to churches on the Lake Erie Islands (Kelley's, Put-In-Bay, Middle Bass, and North Bass) in 1970. After a stop at Cyril & Methodius church in Rossford in 1973, Willman went on to become the pastor of Christ the King in Toledo.
It was there where Willman helped organize a major remodeling of the church. He took a sabbatical in 1986 and participated in a graduate study tour in the Holy Land, and in 1988 returned to Norwalk, where he spent the next 12 years as pastor at St. Paul.
He began retirement from St. Paul on July 5, 2000, but just months later, Willman accepted service as a temporary administrator at East Jordan following his move to Vanderbilt, Mich. that fall.
He served as a sacramental minister at Bellaire for one year and then was named Pastor at East Jordan in the Gaylord, Mich. Diocese in July 2002.
"One of the most genuinely nice people I've ever known," Livengood said of Willman. "After he retired, he still came around to visit often. He was a good-natured, fun person who enjoyed being around the kids."
