April 5, 2017 The diocese has received word of the death of Father Victor E. Lamore, 75, a retired priest of the Diocese of Ogdensburg. He died in Arizona with his two sisters from Canada at his side. Father Lamore was born July 12, 1941, in Britt, Ontario. He entered the Franciscan Atonement Friars as a brother in 1960 and joined the Navy in 1969. After serving in Vietnam, he was discharged in 1973, and began studies for the priesthood. He graduated from Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut; and Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, New York, before his ordination May 3, 1980, by Bishop Stanislaus J. Brzana. Father Lamore served as an associate pastor at St. Bernard’s in Saranac Lake, St. Mary’s in Canton, Our Lady of Victory in Plattsburgh; and Notre Dame in Malone. In 1986, he was named administrator in Rosiere and, two years later, pastor in Indian Lake and Blue Mountain Lake. In 1997, Father Lamore was appointed pastor in West Leyden. The priest served for many years in prison ministry as a chaplain at the Adirondack Correctional Facility and at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora. He retired in 2015 and moved to Arizona.
Rest in peace, Father Lamore “A sweet and gentle man who spent many years of his priesthood in one of the most difficult ministries in the diocese.” That’s how a fellow prison chaplain remembers Father Victor Lamore who died last week in Arizona. After 20 years in North Country parishes, Father Lamore began his ministry to prisoners at the Adirondack Correctional Facility in Ray Brook and then, at Clinton Correctional in Dannemora. At the maximum security prison, Father Lamore did everything he could do make the lives of the inmates a little easier, a goal that could cause tension with the guards and prison administration. His chaplain friend remembers how animated Father Lamore would become when talking about his job during regional chaplain gatherings. He really loved the men he worked with and spent 14 years of his life as their advocate. A Canadian native, Father Lamore served parishes in all parts of the diocese – in Saranac Lake, Canton, Plattsburgh, Malone, Indian Lake, Blue Mountain Lake and West Leyden – after Bishop Brzana ordained him to the priesthood in 1980. His service as a priest followed service to the country, as a sailor in the Navy during the Vietnam War. This Thursday, the priests Father Lamore leaves behind will renew their vows to the priesthood during the annual Chrism Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Among the questions Bishop LaValley will ask is this: It’s safe to say that Father Lamore lived up to these promises in parishes and prisons for all 37 years of his priesthood. We extend our sympathy to his family, including two sisters who traveled from Canada to Arizona to be with their brother as he made his final journey home. And we say farewell to this brother of ours. Well done, good and faithful servant. |