Father Greg Daigle Remembered for Passion for Life, Serving Others

Father Greg Daigle, 65, was known by his family, friends, and parishioners as an enthusiastic priest who liked to share jokes, sing operatically, cook, and pay attention to their needs before his sudden and unexpected death on June 8, 2025, Pentecost Sunday. 

People and clergy from around the diocese packed St. John the Evangelist Church in Plaquemine to celebrate the life of Father Daigle at a funeral Mass on Thursday, June 12.  Bishop Michael G. Duca was the principal celebrant, and the priests of the diocese concelebrated. 

Father Daigle was ordained on June 5, 1993, by Archbishop Philip Hannan at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge.

In addition to serving as pastor of St. John, Father Daigle served as pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Lakeland and as parochial vicar at St. Theresa of Avila Church in Gonzales, Holy Rosary Church in St. Amant, and St. Aloysius Church and St. Patrick Church, both in Baton Rouge. He also served as high school chaplain at St. John Interparochial High School and as a member of the diocesan clergy personnel board.

Father Daigle’s family members said he was always present and encouraged and supported them.

“We spent a lot of time together, even though he lived (miles away),” said Father Daigle’s brother, Paul, who lives outside of Nashville, Tennessee. “I’ll miss the times he came up to see us in Tennessee. He came up two times a year. I have a (family) cemetery on the property, and we would clean it up and he prayed over the 40 or so head stones that are there.”

He added, “I appreciate his sense of humor, being a good brother, challenging me – always being there when you need him. Just like he was there for everyone in his parish.”

Harrison Daigle, Father Daigle’s nephew, said his uncle “brought so much passion to life and to our family and was its constant connector and communicator of hope and love of people. My fondest memories are wrapped up in him teaching me to be a better person, how to interact with people in every way.”

Such memories included his uncle celebrating with him his graduation from high school and taking him on a trip to Australia. Father Daigle also came into to town to watch him and his sister, Savannah Aiello, perform in theatre. Harrison was the envy of his friends when his uncle was his confirmation sponsor.

Father’s Daigle’s support was particularly felt at St. John Interparochial School, according to Assistant Principal Lisa Morel.

“Father Greg was present and engaged with our students,” Morel said. “He blessed classrooms, met with the faculty at the beginning of the school year, attended athletic events, came to meet with students who were struggling either mentally or academically, and celebrated Masses with us. He attended graduations, end of school year closing programs, and sometimes just stopped by to visit.”

While at ICC, Father Daigle was generous and remembered the staff member’s birthdays and holidays by giving them flowers, according to Dina Tunstall, the church’s officer manager and director of religious education. He also cooked for the staff and took them out to eat on different occasions. She added he was an avid reader and loved to play tennis and tell jokes.

“He did a lot of baptisms and marriages,” Tunstall said.

Bill Grimes had worked with Father Daigle in one of Father Daigle’s main passions: music. A graduate of music schools at Loyola and LSU, Daigle toured with multiple opera companies in the U.S. as well as two summer tours with the Rome Festival Opera in Italy before becoming a priest.

Grimes, a jazz bassist who taught at LSU, first met Father Daigle in 2007. Grime’s wife, Jan, accompanied Father Daigle in a patriotic concert at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Baton Rouge.

In 2009, Father Daigle asked Grimes to write arrangements and conduct a concert celebrating his 50th birthday. In 2011 they began the Christmas/Epiphany concerts, when Father Daigle was pastor at ICC. They performed every year except during COVID – a total of 14 concerts between 2009 and 2025. The repertoire was chosen by the Grimeses and Father Daigle. The concerts at St. John benefitted St. John School.

“When we first started, (Father) Greg was leaning heavily in the direction of opera, and sacred anthems. A few Broadway tunes crept in here and there. As the years passed, we moved in the direction of Sinatra/Tony Bennett crooning numbers.  Each concert was mostly new music with a few repeats of favorites. He always closed with ‘O Holy Night,’ as a tribute to his mother.”

The orchestra players “rose to their level of excellence” and loved working with Father Daigle, according to Grimes. Two of them traveled from out of town to play at his funeral.
Grimes is grateful for the friendship and guidance Father Daigle gave to his son, Father Tim Grimes, who is completing his licentiate in canon law in Washington, D.C.

“As my dear friend, I knew I could always count on him to be a non-judgmental listener.  His passing has left a huge vacancy in our hearts,” Grimes said.

The altar boys at St. John appreciated Father Daigle’s presence and guidance at the altar. One altar boy, Andrew David, an eighth-grade St. John student, said observing Father Daigle on the altar inspired him to become a priest someday. David practiced celebrating Masses at his home, and Father Daigle gave him old vestments and other altar items to do this and came to one of his “Masses.”

David said that he would remember Father Daigle for his easy-going personality.

“If we did something wrong, he didn’t get mad. He had a way of doing things with energy,” said David.