Father Richard John Kozak, 84, of Valparaiso, passed away April 15, 2026. He was born Aug. 29, 1941, in Chicago, the son of Walter and Stella (Polito) Kozak. After graduating from Holy Rosary grammar school, he attended the Archdiocesan seminaries of Quigley and St. Mary of the Lake.
In 1966, he served his diaconate internship at St. Matthew Catholic Church on the west side of Chicago. He was ordained as a priest on April 27, 1967 and served at many parishes before retiring at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Homewood, Ill., in 2015. The Lord graced him with the priestly ministry for over 59 years.
After retiring, he said he intended to minister to others as long as the Lord gives him breath. He then started ministering at St.Teresa of Avila Catholic Student Center in Valparaiso, where he lived.
Father Kozak also served many churches in the area, including Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Wanatah, St. Mary Catholic Church in Otis and St. Martin Catholic Church in LaCrosse, as well as celebrating Masses at several nursing homes and other churches where he was needed. He is survived by his many Church family and friends he has made over the years.
Upon his retirement, and shortly after moving to Valparaiso, Father Kozak had a deep desire to continue serving the people of God. He began helping at St. Teresa on the chaplain’s day off, which is how Father Jacob McDaniel met him. He said for many years, Father Kozak remained a faithful and dependable servant to the community.
Father McDaniel said he came to know him through simple but meaningful moments: sharing meals, conversations in the office, and visits with him in the hospital. Those ordinary encounters, he shared, revealed the heart of a priest who truly loved his vocation.
Both priests attended Mundelein Seminary and used the same athletic facilities. When Father McDaniel mentioned that connection, he learned it was there Father Kozak lost the use of his eye. As a transitional deacon, he was playing handball when the ball struck him with such force that he permanently lost sight in that eye.
“What struck me most was not the injury itself, but how he spoke about it,” said Father McDaniel. “He told me it was the best thing that ever happened to him. I remember being taken aback. But he explained that it taught him to rely more deeply on God. That was Father Rich – A man who could receive even suffering as a gift, because it drew him closer to the Lord.”
As his health declined, Father McDaniel said Father Kozak’s greatest desire remained the same: to serve God’s people. And in the end, God granted him that desire. He was able to celebrate Mass publicly up until his final days, never having to step away from his ministry in parishes and nursing homes in the area.
Father Paul Quanz first met Father Kozak at a confessions session at St. Teresa, unaware that he would eventually become an integral part of the Catholic Communities and Our Lady of Sorrows.
“I will always remember his gentle demeanor and his overall kindness and concern for others,” he said. “His ministry was all about others.”
Father Quanz added that Father Kozak will be greatly missed in the Catholic Communities and Our Lady of Sorrows.
“I am sure his absence in the weeks before us will drive home just how much a hole his absence will create,” he said.
Visitation is Thursday, April 23, from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. and Friday, April 24, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 202 N. Ohio Street in Wanatah. His funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, 10:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
Father Kozak will be laid to rest privately near his parents at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Ill. Memorial contributions can be made in memory of Father Kozak to the St. Vincent DePaul Society. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the Newhard and Bartholomew Funeral Homes.
