St Joseph Dyer

Father Leo Gajardo
Pastor
Bio coming soon!
Deacon Gary Blue
Pastoral Associate
Building and Grounds

Deacon Gary Blue and his wife Susan have been parishioners of St. Joseph since 1987. Their two Daughters, Carly and Taylor were both Baptized, received first Eucharist and were confirmed at St. Joseph. Taylor and Eric Hurley were married here in October of 2021. Gary and Sue have been involved in a number of ministries throughout the last 25 years, serving as catechist, EOM, lectors and homebound ministers. In the Fall of 2007, Gary entered into the Diocesan Lay Ministry Program and in 2014, entered into the Permanent Diaconate Formation Program. In June of 2016, Gary was ordained a Permanent Deacon by Bishop Donald Hying. After working 36 years in the waste industry, Gary joined the staff of St. Joseph in the fall of 2019. Gary works as the head of Buildings and Grounds and as a Pastoral Associate.

Fr. David Krolczyk
Senior Priest

Fr. Dave came to St. Joseph in September of 2021 from St. James the Greater in Sauk Village, IL (Archdiocese of Chicago).

Father Dave was born in Chicago and attended St. Mary, Star of the Sea School, Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary and Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary South and University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary.

He served as associate pastor of Our Lady of the Mount, Cicero; Sacred Heart, Melrose Park; St. Mary of Czestochowa; and St. Jude the Apostle.

He was pastor of St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr, Posen; administrator of Queen of the Universe; and pastor of St. James the Greater, Sauk Village (2003-2021).

He also served for four years as a field advocate for the marriage tribunal and four years on the building and renovation commission, as well as serving as chaplain of three Knights of Columbus councils.(Archdiocese of Chicago).

Patty Jarzembowski
Office Manager

Patty has been married to her husband, Paul, for 52 years and has one son, also Paul. Patty and Paul were members of St. Maria Goretti since they lived in Northgate subdivision for 20 years. They then joined St. Joseph when they moved to Cedar Lake.Patty started at St. Joseph Church in March of 1991 as a secretary to Msgr. F.J. Melevage. Besides being secretary, Patty also did the bulletin, and was a receptionist. Patty served under Rev. Mark Pavlina, Rev. Terry Steffens, Rev. Ted J. Mauch and now Rev. Peter John Muha.Patty’s duties increased to include finance, gym rental, calendar keeper for the gym. gathering room, and priest schedules along various other duties.

Patty’s joys come from meeting and speaking with all of the parishioners.

“I am honored and privileged to still be working here at St. Joseph Parish.”

William Coble
Director of Music & Liturgy

William’s Catholic ministry as a Music Director and Organist started in 1992 at St. Gertrude on Chicago’s north side.

He formally joined the Catholic faith in 1999 with RCIA.

In 2005, he began serving at St. Paul IV in Riverside.

After 2013, he held various pt posts before arriving at St. Joseph in late 2016.

His training includes several degrees e.g. the University of Chicago (Ph.D.) and The Curtis Institute.

He taught grads and undergrads at seven colleges including the University of North Texas.

His composing includes symphonies and chamber music that earned him awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and Illinois Council on the Arts.

His performances include playing trumpet with an orchestra primarily of Chicago Symphony members (Apollo Chorus) and professional piano, conducting and singing. William lives in Munster with his wife Jenny and son Ben, a sophomore at Munster High School.

Mary Marszalek
Office Assistant

Mary was born and raised in Gary, Indiana along with her three brothers and a sister. She belonged to St. Mark Parish where she attended grade school. Shen then attended Andrean High School and graduated in 1969.

After graduating high school Mary went to work in the banking industry for the next 33 years. After that, she worked at Town & Country Market for 15 years until she retired in 2018.

After retirement, Mary relocated to the Dyer/Schererville area and became a parishioner of St. Joseph Parish where she is now employed as the Office Assistant.

Mark Gabrione
Communications

Mark has been a parishioner of St. Joseph Parish for six years and is originally from South Holland, IL.
He attended Marist High School and Marquette University.

Mark was a Senior Project Coordinator in the Telecom Industry and a Senior Pension Analyst for a corporate human resources firm.

Mark is a third degree Knight of Columbus and is active in many Pro Life activities.
He serves on the Board of Directors for the Women’s Care Center in Merrillville and Mommy’s Haven Maternity Home in Lowell.

He also partakes and serves on many St. Joseph Ministries as well as managing the Parish website, social media and communications strategy.

Rod Keelan
Maintenance

Rod and his wife Debbie have been St. Joseph parishioners for 28 years and have been married for 50 years. They have six children and twenty three grandchildren.

Rod has been a 3rd degree Knight of Columbus for over 20 years and he and his wife Debbie (and family) are actively in many Pro Life activities. They have attended the March For Life in Washington multiple times.

Rod was born in Winona, MN and lived Calumet City, IL.

He retired as an electrician after 37 years with IBEW 697 and went on to work in the software business warehouse for ten years.

Rod is a veteran of the United States Air Force.

Gerald “Hap” Arentz
Maintenance

“Hap” and his wife Shirley have been married for 53 years. They have three children and eight grandchildren.
Hap lives in Dyer and is originally from Hammond.

He originally began working maintenance with our St. Joseph Parish School until it closed. He then began working here at the church.