Father James Ernest Kilzer

A vigil service will be held for Father James Kilzer at the Abbey church on Sunday, February 15 at 7:00 p.m. MT. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Assumption Abbey on Monday, February 16 at 10:30 a.m. MT. He will be buried in the Abbey Cemetery.

Our beloved confère, Father James Kilzer, OSB, 63, passed to his eternal reward on February 7 at 11:36 a.m.

Born in Jacobson Memorial Hospital (Elgin, ND), on November 26, 1962, the tenth of fourteen children, he was named Ernest after his Benedictine uncle, a monk of St. John's Abbey (Collegeville, MN). Ernest grew up on the farm settled by his paternal grandparents seven miles from Bently, ND, and attended Eagle Scout School #2 in Hettinger County, where the students were almost all his siblings or cousins. High School took him to St. Mary's (New England, ND) for one year; the remaining years he spent in Mott Lincoln High School, graduating in 1981.

After two years at Eastern Montana College (Billings, MT) studying chemistry and computer programming, he took time off to see the world with Up with People before a stint at selling everything from vacuum cleaners to cotton candy. Then, in 1986, he returned to college earning a bachelor's degree in theology from Franciscan University (Steubenville, OH) in 1989. That same year he came to Assumption Abbey and, after candidacy and novitiate, received the name James when he pronounced simple vows in 1991.

After solemn vows in 1994, he attended St. John's School of Theology (Collegeville, MN) and was ordained a priest in 1998. "My upbringing," he said, "had me well prepared for mindfulness of others, so necessary in a monastery. As a large family, we learned to make do, make allowances, share and share alike, to think how our behavior impacts upon others." He frequently did weekend pastoral work. His penchant for wordsmithing was appreciated both in the parishes in which he helped, as well as by his brother monks.

A self-starter, James got involved in many areas of work. If he did not know how to do something, he read everything he could get his hands on and learned how. Tough jobs of refurbishing and altering rooms went to James because he had, it seemed, limitless skill and energy. His assigned duties over the years showcased his multiple interests. He was in the Abbey Business Office for sixteen years. He made candles for sale. He was an excellent carpenter. For one of his last major projects he installed a new stock tank in the east pasture of the Abbey farm, to prevent the banks being muddied by cattle, something unhealthy for them and for wildlife.

When James took charge of the Abbey Gift Shop, he built new and better shelving, set down new vinyl flooring, and turned the place into a boutique with ample inventory. All of this he did while serving as the Abbey's oblate director for twenty-two years; he gave that lean program a solid base and the enrollment mushroomed.

Diagnosed with cancer in June of 2024, he did not sit on his hands but began journaling. He sent these reflections to various newspapers, then collected them into a self-published book Thoughts on Living with Cancer which was a comfort to many. He died on February 7 in the Benedictine Living Community (Dickinson, ND) at peace and fortified by the sacraments of the Church.

Father James was preceded in death by his parents Werner and Edith (Remington) Kilzer, and his brother Mike, his sister-in-law Vicki, his nephew Colby Kilzer and his niece Lindsy Binstock. Besides his brother monks at Assumption Abbey, he is survived by twelve of his thirteen siblings as follows: Sherryl (Muessig) Kilzer of Billings, MT; Madonna (Walter) Braun of Rosholt, SD; Richard (Linda) of Redding, CA; Paul (Karen) of Richfield, MN; Roger (Sue) of Bently, ND; Veronica (Dan) Sparling of River Falls, WI; Lauretta (Terry) Marigny of O'Fallon, IL; Jude of Minneapolis, MN; Margaret (Allan) Binstock of Dickinson, ND; Raymond (Brenda) of Mott, ND; Sharon of El Paso, TX; Marian (Kent) Quamme of Fergus Falls, MN; and Kristine (Stewart) Mehrer of Dickinson, ND.