Philip G. Roets

Born in Wichita, Kansas, to Philip and Pauline (Lohkamp) Roets. He loved and admired his parents and 15 brothers and sisters.

Elementary Education: St. Joseph's School, Wichita.

Minor Seminary. St. Joseph's Seminary and College, Kirkwood, Missouri. 4 years high school and 2 college.

Novitiate: Religious Order of Redemptorists (CSsR).

Major Seminary, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Two years philosophy and 4 years theology. Tutored fellow students in Latin and other subjects.

Ordained Catholic priest.

Catholic University in Washington D.C. Earned Licentiate in Theology (STL), plus Semitic languages. Worked on translating the Dead Sea Scrolls. Did parish work on weekends in DC, NJ, VA, and NY.

Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome, Italy. Completed the Licentiate in Sacred Scripture (SSL). Exams included 33 hours written, 11 hours orals, and 1 hour defense of thesis. Added Italian to his list of languages.

Taught at Redemptorists Seminary, Oconomowoc, WI. Taught Ethics for School of Nursing, St. Mary's Hospital, Madison, WI. Conducted retreats and days of recollection across Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Kansas, Oklahoma, and the east coast. Lectured on Bible for clergy and educators. Guided Bible Study Clubs in family neighborhoods.

Married Lois Schelle at Catholic Church in Rio, WI.

Taught 6th grade in Pardeeville, WI. Began writing Commentaries on the Bible and Wildlife Series for students. Wrote first draft of "Books of the Bible".

Presented paper "The Spirit of Yahweh: A study of the meaning of the word 'Spirit' in the Bible" at the annual meeting of the Catholic Biblical Association (CBA).

Moved to Iowa for family-related reasons. New Sharon, Iowa.

Taught science to 8th graders in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Taught remedial reading and math for grades 3–8; taught accelerated and enriched reading for kindergarteners. Taught graduate courses to teachers. Wrote booklet "200 Considerations to Promote Mental Health." Continued study and translation of Old/New Testament in original languages. Translated Biblical quotations for each day of the year.

Wrote a twice-weekly newspaper column "Word to the Wise" for the Oskaloosa Herald, Iowa.

Taught at Des Moines campus for Upper Iowa University: Spanish I, Spanish II, Business Ethics, Intro to Philosophy, and Philosophy of Religion. Continued writing commentaries on Bible. Began monographs on Biblical themes.

Celebrated 25th wedding anniversary. Retired from formal teaching and tutoring.

Continued writing commentaries on Bible and Biblical themes. Over 1,000 pages completed.

Philip died of complications of cancer at Iowa Methodist Hospital, Des Moines, Iowa. He was one month shy of 81 years of age. His favorite gospel was the Gospel According to John — he was editing his commentary on John the day he was taken to the hospital.