Denton Knights celebrate 66 years of service
Sir Knights Earnest Stocker, Gene Hartman, and David MacKenna, all of whom have been Knights since 1959, stand before the Monsignor Charles King Council 4771 of the Knights of Columbus as the council celebrated its 66th anniversary with a special Mass at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Denton. (NTC/Michael Madsen)
DENTON — Brother Knights of Columbus, their spouses, families, and friends gathered to celebrate the 66th anniversary of Monsignor Charles King Council 4771 with a special Mass at Immaculate Conception Parish in Denton, Sunday, April 6.
A reception was held following the Mass at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Riney Road.
Special honorees included Brother Knights who have been in the council since its founding in 1959, including Charter Member Sir Knight David W. MacKenna, who was an original member of the council, and Sir Knight Eugene M. Hartman, who joined within months of when the council was established. Sir Knight Earnest Stocker, who was also honored, joined Council 4771 in 1968, having transferred from a council in Amarillo, which he joined in 1959 about the same time as MacKenna and Hartman.
The pastor of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church as well as chaplain of Council 4771, Father Matthew Tatyrek said of the men that “their commitment to the Knights of Columbus is evident that they continue to live out the call of founder Blessed Father Michael McGivney and the overall mission of the Knights of Columbus.”
From its start
It was on April 5, 1959, that Monsignor Charles King Council 4771 of the Knights of Columbus was officially chartered.
MacKenna was one of the original group of about 40 Brother Knights and is the last surviving charter member of Council 4771.
“We had recently relocated from a place called Pilot Point, and I was barely 18 years old when I joined the Knights of Columbus,” MacKenna recalled. “My father was already a Knight for a number of years. I remember after 8 o’clock Mass one Sunday that my dad and other fellows here decided that they should form a council in Denton.”
When he joined, MacKenna was a student at the University of North Texas, active in ROTC and a close-order military drill group called the Sabres.
When he returned from the U.S. Air Force, he began a career as an instructor at the University of Texas at Arlington teaching political science and criminal justice.
“Even in spite of moving around from place to place, I always maintained my membership with the Denton council,” MacKenna said. “We built our first council hall by ourselves without the need to hire outside help. We had a lot of guys who were tradesmen — carpenters, electricians, plumbers, HVAC guys.
“Through this volunteerism, we were able to work on the weekends and evenings,” he continued. “A sense of closeness formed amongst the members in those early days is a very fond memory for me.”
A leader among Knights
Gene Hartman talked about his origins with the Denton council.
“I was a young barber,” Hartman said. “My boss, Joe Pelzel Jr., was a charter member of the council. He encouraged me to join, but truth be told, it didn’t take too much arm twisting,”
Over the years, Hartman has held many leadership positions in the Knights of Columbus, including Grand Knight, financial secretary, and district deputy. He was even honored by being named Outstanding District Deputy in the State of Texas in 1974. Hartman was also elected to be a delegate to the 100th Anniversary of the Knights of Columbus Convention in New Haven, Conn.
Hartman’s daughter, Pam Bloedel beams with pride when she discusses her father’s long affiliation with the Knights of Columbus.
“My father is so fond of the friendships he has made while being part of a fraternity that shares his faith and beliefs while helping others,” she said. “And now, even my son, Trent Bloedel, has been a Knight for the past nine-and-a-half years.”
A community to serve
After college and his service in the U.S. Army as a pilot, Earnest Stocker returned to Texas in 1968 and transferred his membership to Council 4771 in Denton.
Stocker, who went on to work as a pilot for United Airlines until his retirement in 2001, discovered a special community in the Denton Knights council.
“The best part of the Knights of Columbus is the camaraderie and how everybody works together to reach out and help the Church and the community.”
During the past 66 years, thousands of Knights have been a part of Council 4771. Presently, the membership stands at 232 Knights.
“Throughout its existence, Council 4771 has been very supportive of the parish and the vision of various pastors and ministries,” Fr. Tatyrek said.
These projects have benefitted the local parish as well as families and the community at large while espousing the Knights guiding principles of charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism.
Since its founding in 1882 by Blessed Michael McGivney, a parish priest in New Haven, Conn., the Knights of Columbus have grown to become the largest Catholic fraternal service organization in the world. There are nearly two million Knights in over 16,000 councils around the world in the United States, Canada, the Philippines, Mexico, Poland, the Republic of Korea, France, and various other countries.
For more information on the Knights of Columbus and Monsignor Charles King Council 4771, go to: uknight.org/CouncilSite/index.asp?CNO=4771
By Ron Kuzlik, a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus and former U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve public affairs professional.