He held to this identity so strongly that even from his wheelchair, he celebrated Holy Mass for fellow residents at Wellspring Senior Living in Saginaw. He passed away peacefully on Jan. 23, 2026, at Wellspring, leaving behind a legacy spanning 66 years of priesthood and countless lives impacted.

“Father Richard was a faithful servant priest, loved and greatly respected by his parishioners, brother priests, Bishop for whom he served and all of the people whose lives he touched not only during his years serving in parishes but even during his years of retirement,” said Father Bill Rutkowski, vicar general. “He leaves a legacy of enduring priestly service well into his retirement years.  We grieve his loss but rejoice in having been blessed by God with his friendship, priestly service, and being a model disciple of Christ to us.”

Father Richard was born Dec. 9, 1931 in Saginaw to George and Veronica (Krawczak) Jozwiak. As a child, he and his grandpa would play church — with little Richard as the priest, using a plate from Mother’s Oats and a goblet as his paten and chalice, with Necco wafers and orange pop as the Hosts and wine. One day, the pair cut a hole in one of his grandmother’s tablecloths to use as a chasuble.

As he got older, the idea of the priesthood remained.

Father Richard was pursuing his vocation at St. Mary’s College in Orchard Lake when he received a letter of invitation from the vocations director, Father James Hickey (who was later elevated to Cardinal Hickey). They were considering sending him to Rome to finish college and study theology for an additional four years.

In September 1954, Father Richard joined about 30 young men sailing on a nine-day voyage from New York to Naples. They entered the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where Father Richard studied for the remainder of seminary.

“Oh my gosh, those six years were the greatest years of my life. I loved every minute of it,” he recalled in a 2023 oral history interview.

Father Richard was ordained to the priesthood on Dec. 20, 1959 in Rome by Archbishop Martin John O’Connor. He returned to Michigan the following year and began serving as assistant pastor of St. Hyacinth (now Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish) in Bay City. Subsequent assignments saw him serving the faithful in Pinconning, Bay City, Mount Pleasant, Carrollton, Vassar and Saginaw. He also served as a regional vicar and as the director of vocations for the Diocese of Saginaw, was a lifetime member of the Knights of Columbus and served for 20 years as the Catholic chaplain for Saginaw’s Aleda E. Lutz Department Of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in addition to numerous boards and organizations. The priests of the diocese honored him with the Francis Award in 1989.

After attaining senior priest status in 2001, Father Richard remained very active in ministry, including serving as a sacramental minister at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption, where he became like a “third grandpa” to Father Matt Gembrowski. While Father Matt was in high school, he attended daily Mass celebrated by Father Richard on Saturdays at the St. Dominic Chapel with the Religious Sisters of Mercy, and then they would all go out to breakfast. When Father Matt was at St. John Vianney Seminary College, Father Richard broke his femur, and the Sisters asked Father Matt to help him during visits home.

“We became very close that way,” Father Matt said, adding that Father Richard would also join his family for holidays.

Father Richard supported Father Matt in his vocation, lending a listening ear or a wise word, and he even vested Father Matt at his diaconate ordination.

“He was always very, very faithful to his priesthood—his vocation—and I really just valued the advice he gave me,” Father Matt said. “He was just a very great mentor … a good role model.”

Father Richard’s wealth of experiences included meeting not only St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II, but also celebrating Mass with St. John Paul II, who asked him to read the Gospel. At the same Mass, which was in Pope John Paul II’s private chapel, the chalice used during Communion was Father Richard’s. While in Rome on sabbatical, Father Richard had brought his chalice (a family gift for his 1959 ordination) to be replated and had it with him that day. Coincidentally, Pope John XXIII had used the same chalice before Father Richard returned to the United States after being ordained in Rome.

“I treasure that beautiful experience,” Father Richard said in a 2014 interview with MLive/The Bay City Times.

Proud of his Polish heritage, Father Richard also fondly remembered speaking with Pope St. John Paul II in Polish, as he had learned the language from his immigrant grandparents. This ability also benefitted Polish-speaking parishioners at the many parishes where Father Richard ministered throughout the decades.

During Father Richard’s visitation, vigil service and Liturgy of Christian Burial on Jan. 28 and 29, hundreds paid their respects both in person and online, evidence of the impact of his ministry.

“Father Richard was generous in every area of his life,” Father Matt said.  “He just was always giving. He was always very generous with his time, his resources. He kept in contact with so many people.”

Father Richard’s legacy, Father Matt says, is his witness that ‘priesthood is a life worth living,’ as he deeply loved the Diocese of Saginaw and the people he served.

“He took very seriously the promises he made at his ordination,” Father Matt said of Father Richard. “He didn't see the priesthood as a job, but it was his way of life. Every time I would ask him … about his life, he said, ‘I have no regrets. God's been good to me. I love serving the people of God.’ He just talked about how much he loved being a priest.”

In his 2023 interview, Father Richard’s faithfulness to his vocation rang clear:  “If I had to do it again, I'd do the same thing. All over again.”