MARSHALL — People who knew Rev. Tony Stubeda said one of the things that stood out about him was his compassion for the communities he ministered to.

“He was just really concerned with where people were at, and that he could respond where they were at,” said Rev. Paul Schumacher, retired priest in residence at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Cottonwood.

Stubeda served as pastor of Catholic churches in Marshall, Cottonwood, Tracy and Milroy since 2020, and had many years of service in southwest Minnesota parishes, and ministering to Hispanic communities in the region.

“One of the real loves that Father Tony had was ministry with and for the Hispanic community,” said Rev. Dennis Labat, senior associate pastor at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church.

On Monday, Holy Redeemer staff shared that Stubeda had died of cancer at the age of 65. He had been under hospice care at his residence in Marshall.

Stubeda grew up in Litchfield, and was ordained in 1985. Over his years as a priest, Stubeda served at the office of the New Ulm Diocese, as well as in several different parishes and area faith communities (AFC) within the diocese. In 2020, Stubeda became pastor of the Bread of Life and Our Lady of the Prairie AFCs, which include churches in Marshall, Cottonwood, Tracy and Milroy.

One important part throughout Stubeda’s priesthood was Hispanic ministry in southwest Minnesota.

Labat said he remembered Stubeda’s Hispanic ministry work back when both he and Stubeda were on the bishop’s staff in the New Ulm Diocese during in the 1990s. Stubeda would prepare weekly homilies that could be used at Spanish Mass. At the time, other options for Spanish-language homilies didn’t really reflect life in southwest Minnesota, Labat said.

“What Father Tony prepared was much more user-friendly for priests,” and more relevant for area parishioners, Labat said.

Schumacher said he first got to know Stubeda because of his Hispanic ministry. When Schumacher was serving as a pastor in Litchfield, Stubeda would help out by celebrating Mass in Spanish.

“That was kind of my first interaction with him, more or less,” Schumacher said. “He dearly loved the Hispanic community.”

As pastor in the Marshall area, Stubeda also led Mass in Spanish every Sunday at Holy Redeemer, Labat said.

Another area of ministry that Stubeda was involved in was being part of the New Ulm Diocese’s committee on parishes, Labat said. The committee was tasked with looking at the viability of parishes in the diocese, and in grouping them together, he said.

“Father Tony was very good at pulling together the cooperative work of many people,” Labat said. As a pastor, Stubeda was also focused on working together with different parishes and finding ways they could have better ministry.

“One of the things that really stood out for who Father Tony was, was just a real compassion and care for people,” Labat said. Stubeda always tried to make sure that the people he ministered to had everything they needed, Labat said.

Schumacherr said he got to know Stubeda more when they both served in the faith community around Winsted, Silver Lake and Glencoe. Over the years, they were a source of support for each other, he said.

“He was always an amazing person to work with because he was so intellectual and talented,” Schumacher said. Schumacher said Stubeda was also a person who would listen to others before making a decision.

“We ended up becoming very dear friends,” Schumacher said. “It was always just a real blessing to me to work with him.”

After receiving a cancer diagnosis last year, Stubeda tried to stay as active as he could in ministry.

“When he found out he had cancer and his time frame was short … he said, ‘I plan to continue serving as long as I can,'” Labat said. The last Mass that Stubeda celebrated was a Spanish mass a couple of weeks ago, he said. “He just kept going.”

As a priest, Stubeda formed deep connections with people in the communities he served.

“He knew well what was going on in parish communities,” Labat said.

Community members cared deeply about Stubeda, as well. A group of parishioners started a weekly gathering to pray for Stubeda after they learned about his cancer diagnosis.

“It was something that just kept going,” Labat said.

Mass of Christian Burial for Stubeda will be at 11 a.m. on Monday at St. Philip Catholic Church in Litchfield. Visitation will be held in Marshall on Sunday at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church. Visitation will be from 5-9 p.m. with a parish prayer service at 7 p.m. Visitation will continue on Monday from 9-11 a.m. at St. Philip.