The Rev. Edward J. Mahoney, a beloved former pastor of Orangeville's St. Timothy parish, died on Friday, March 24 at his home on the Forks of the Credit Road. He was in his 89th year and the 61st year of his priesthood.

During his pastorate in Orangeville, St. Cornelius Church, Caledon, was part of his parish. However, he sometimes called himself, jokingly, "the O.P.P.", the Orangeville parish priest.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Timothy Church on Tuesday by Rt. Rev. John Boissoneau, the area bishop, assisted by priests and deacons of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto. Burial was in St. Cornelius cemetery.

"Father Ted" oversaw the opening of St. Peter's School (1960) on Dawson Road, the closing of the old St. Peter's Church on John Street below the Town Line and the construction of the new St. Timothy Church (1967-8) on Centre Street. During his 20-year (1959-79) tenure in Dufferin and Caledon, the reforms of the Second Vatican Council brought many changes to the churches, with the parish growing to 850 families. (St. Timothy's is now the largest Christian community in Dufferin, with 1,600 families and three schools. )

A native of Toronto, Fr. Mahoney had at one time hoped for a career in sport. He played junior hockey with St. Michael's College and went semiprofessional with the Pittsburgh team in the American Hockey League. After being posted to the Orangeville parish, he coached the Junior-C Orangeville Telstars and was a formidable presence in the old arena on Elizabeth Street.

In 1979 he was transferred to St. John Fisher parish in Bramalea. For the past 15 years he had been in declining health and had been cared for at home by devoted caregivers.