Donor Story
Ruthanne Beighley’s enthusiasm is palpable when she says “Monsignor Zeitler was the holiest and kindest man I have ever known.” Their relationship developed while he led her through RCIA at Notre Dame Parish, Hermitage, in the late 1980s. At that time, Ruthanne was engaged to be married.
“Monsignor encouraged my fiancé, Joe George, to participate in RCIA as my sponsor and he encouraged us to pursue annulments of our prior marriages,” Ruthanne recalls fondly. “We both learned so much.” Together with Father Hindman, also at Notre Dame, “Msgr. Z” concelebrated their nuptial Mass on November 25, 1988. Ruthanne and Joe were married thirty-two years, until his death in 2020.
Ruthanne established the Monsignor Edward J. Zeitler Endowment in the Catholic Foundation in 2018. “I feel that the endowment in his name and honor with the Catholic Foundation provides a lasting tribute to this gentle and humble man,” she says. “Hopefully, the fund will grow with contributions from others whose lives he touched and whose faith he strengthened.”
Ruthanne was thoughtful about the purpose of this endowment and wanted it to benefit the parishes Monsignor Zeitler served during his active ministry: Notre Dame Parish in Sharon, Beloved Disciple Parish in Grove City and Our Lady, Queen of the Americas Parish in Conneaut Lake. “Involved in music ministry myself, I hope the fund can assist the three named parishes in maintaining quality instruments, growing music libraries, and resources, bringing in renowned musicians and composers, and possibly, preparing and staging productions as was done the last few years at Notre Dame.”
With her legal and business acumen, Ruthanne quickly identified the right partner for her gift. “The Catholic Foundation of Northwest Pennsylvania provides the ‘lasting tribute’ that I ardently wanted. It also allows donors to specify their fund’s objectives. It gave me the ability to designate not one, but three parishes that Monsignor Z served and whose ministries he fostered and loved very much.”
“The Catholic Foundation of Northwest Pennsylvania provides the ‘lasting tribute’ that I ardently wanted. It also allows donors to specify their fund’s objectives. It gave me the ability to designate not one, but three parishes that Monsignor Z served and whose ministries he fostered and loved very much.”