Father Wilbur J. Votraw, a diocesan priest for 68 years, passed away on November 14, 2023. He served the Diocese of Syracuse as priest, pastor, hospital chaplain and instructor.
Born in Syracuse on March 29, 1929 to Wilbur and Emma (Koshia) Votraw, Fr. Votraw’s family worshipped at St. Anthony of Padua Church. He Graduated from St. Anthony’s High School and studied philosophy for two years at LeMoyne College before entering St. Bernard’s Seminary in Rochester. He was ordained in 1955. He did further study in the areas of psychology and criminal law and attained certification as an associate correctional chaplain. He also studied matrimonial Canon Law and would later serve as a judge in the diocesan Marriage Tribunal.
Following ordination, Fr. Votraw served as an associate at parishes in Rome, Kirkwood, Chadwicks, Cortland, Fayetteville and Binghamton before being named pastor of St. Patrick in Whitney Point in 1970. He would serve in the same capacity at St. Andrew in Binghamton starting in 1974. He was the temporary associate at St. Vincent de Paul in Syracuse from 1994 until his retirement in 1999. That didn’t last long. He became administrator of St. Vincent in 2005 until he retired in 2012.
He served as a chaplain at different times to the Broome County Home and County Jail, the Binghamton Fire Department and Loretto Geriatric Center in Syracuse among others. He also taught for several years in the diocesan Deacon Formation program. In 2020 when he celebrated his 65th Jubilee, he told The Catholic Sun that he enjoyed teaching deacon candidates and thought well of their preaching abilities. “It takes a lot of things, a lot of listening, listening to people, encouraging them, helping them in different ways in the ministry,” he said.
His first thoughts of a priestly vocation came when he was in high school. “I guess I debated whether I would join a religious order,” he said in his jubilee interview, “or the diocese. I wasn’t sure, really. … You have to think a lot about it, pray over it.”
No calling hours are scheduled. Fr. Votraw has donated his body to the SUNY Upstate Medical University Anatomical Donation Program. A memorial Mass will be scheduled at a later date.
