KULA, Reverend Francis J. Reverend Francis J. Kula M.S., 81, a Missionary of Our Lady of La Salette died on May 29, 2010, in St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. Father Kula, was born on January 20, 1929, in Cloverleaf, Manitoba, Canada, son of the late Stephen and Caroline (Haier) Kula. He attended schools in Canada before entering La Salette Seminary in Olivet, Illinois in 1947. After completing his novitiate and pronouncing his first vows in August of 1948, he began his studies for the priesthood at La Salette in Olivet. In 1950 he was sent to Rome to study Theology. While in Europe, he made perpetual profession of vows as a Missionary of La Salette at La Salette, France, on September 28, 1951. Upon completing his studies, he was ordained to the priesthood on March 14, 1954, in St. Stanislaus Church in Rome. Early assignments took him to Canada for parish ministry in Red Lake and Elma. In 1960 he was appointed Director of the La Salette Minor Seminary in Olivet. In 1966 he was named Superior of the La Salette Shrine Community at Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. While there, he was instrumental in the construction and remodeling of the Shrine Center, served as its Director, and ministered in many capacities. He was also active in ministry at St. Paul Parish in Milwaukee. In 2003 Father Kula became Catholic Chaplain at the State Veteran's Home and Hospital in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, where he also resided. Father Kula was very active in ministry, especially in the hospital section of the facility. He was earnest, dedicated and reliable in all that he did in community and ministry. In addition to his La Salette confreres, Father Kula is survived by a sister, Mrs. Bernice (Kula) Zurawski of Alexandria, Virginia, and was predeceased by two brothers, Edward and Stanley. Services for Father Kula will be held Thursday, June 3, 2010, at Hartford House, 85 New Park Avenue. Visitation is scheduled for 9 to 10:30 a.m. followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. in the Hartford House Chapel. Interment will take place at Mount St. Benedict Cemetery in Bloomfield, CT. Contributions may be made in memory of Father Francis J. Kula, M.S., to Missionaries of La Salette Retirement Fund, 915 Maple Avenue, Hartford, CT 06114-2330. Dillon-Baxter Funeral Home has care of arrangements. To share a memory with the family, please visit www.dillonbaxter.com