By Marnie McAllister, Record Assistant Editor
The Kentucky State Council of the Knights of Columbus created a new award this year which bears the name of the award’s first recipient.
The Dentinger Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Father Roy Dentinger in late January at the annual Clergy Appreciation Dinner. Father Dentinger, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Louisville, served as the council’s state chaplain for more than a decade after he retired from active ministry.
The award honors his dedication and his “love of the Knights of Columbus that is second to none,” according to a statement from the Knights of Columbus.
State Deputy Bill Schmidt said, “I can personally testify to the guidance and support that ‘Fr. D’ has provided me during my term as state deputy, and know that he has done the same for many state deputies before me. His wisdom and understanding have never steered the Kentucky State Council in the wrong direction.”
Father Dentinger retired from active ministry in 1995. He spent 10 years as a contract chaplain for Fort Knox after that. And he served as the state chaplain for the Knights of Columbus from 1998 to 2002 and from 2006 to 2013. He resigned in August. Father Patrick Dolan is now the council’s chaplain.
Father Dentinger said the award — in the form of a medal — was a surprise and a “great honor.”
“I was just overwhelmed,” he said in a phone interview Feb. 21. “I thought it was awfully good of them. I certainly treasure the affirmation and the friendship that the state officers continue to give.”
During his years as a chaplain for the Knights — across the state’s four dioceses — Father Dentinger said he became familiar with the organization’s work in every part of the state.
“I could see the real dedication that the Knights of Columbus have in Kentucky,” he said. “I’m very proud of the fact they’re doing so much in Appalachia. I’m very appreciative that I was able to be chaplain.”
