2023-24 Pastoral Council Members

One of the primary purposes of the Pastoral Council, which continues to meet monthly, is to represent the wisdom of the perspectives present in the parish community and to ensure mutual communication between the Council and parishioners.  Do you have a question, a concern, a comment, idea, or a compliment that you would like to share?  Please click the name to reach a parish council member via email or click here to fill out a webform. Your feedback will be heard and discussed at the next monthly Pastoral Council meeting, which meets on the 2nd Tuesday of the month (Sept.-June). Thank you for bringing your gifts, talents, and ideas to the life of our parish community.

Pastoral Council Minutes 2023-24
Feb, 24
Dec. 2023
Nov. 2023
Oct. 2023
Sept. 2023

Erica Williamson (2-2024)- President
I have been a member of St. Pius X Parish since 2013. My husband and I have 2 children who have attended SPSL since preschool. I run Straight From The Heart which pampers the teachers & staff at SPSL. I also enjoy volunteering in my children’s classrooms and at other school events.  I spend much of my time running our kids to school, sports activities or assistant coaching their sports teams. In my free time, I love to read, garden, go on adventures with my family and cheer for the Denver Broncos. I look forward to my 2nd term on the parish council.

Kristine Ericson (1-2026) -Vice President 
My husband Kris and I have been members of St Pius X since 2014.  We have two girls (Lylah and Taylor), who have attended SPSL since preschool.  Lylah just graduated from SPSL and is headed to Mercy High School and Taylor will begin 6th grade.  I attended UNO and have degrees in Accounting, Finance and Banking.  I am currently Director of Ballot Management at Election Systems and Software, and have been there in some capacity for over 15 years.  My husband Kris works as a Senior IT Engineer for Nebraska Medicine.  I have always been involved in many boards and volunteer activities, either at SPSL school, Fort Atkinson Living History, Girl Scouts or the Local Omaha Project Management Chapter.  I coach for soccer and basketball for my youngest daughter and spend many minutes and hours driving the kids to practice, games, show choir performances, drama performances, girl scouts, etc.  If there is ever time left in the day I can be found working in my yard or doing cross stitch or needlepoint. I grew up in the Omaha area and attended St Leo the Great for most of my life with my parents Tom and Karen Hosier.  You will often see us attending Saturday night service where my girls serve and I attend with my parents.  I recently (2023) completed co-chairing the St Pius X Summer Festival, where I met so many great people of our parish. Of late, I have begun to focus my volunteer time on items with my kids and my church.  I am honored to have the opportunity to serve on the Pastoral Council.

Robin Versch (2-2024)
I have been a parishioner most of my life. We moved from Lincoln, NE when I was 10 years old. I graduated from St. Pius X grade school in 1966. Attended Marian High School and attended University of Central Missouri. I attained a B.S. degree in General Recreation. My working career here in Omaha has been in the Customer Service area. I am currently employed full time. My hobbies in the past included tennis and down-hill skiing. I took religious education classes under Sr. Rosalie. Epic (history of the church) His-Story. Also, Pillars Classes on: Acts, The Sacraments, The Creed and James.  I have served on the Liturgy Committee as Secretary. Currently I serve as a Eucharistic Minister primarily at the 11:30 am Mass.   I am honored to have the opportunity to serve on the Pastoral Council with some terrific people helping our new pastor to become acclimated.

Bill Fell (2-2026)
My wife Molly and I have been members of St. Pius X since 1987.  We have three grown children who all attended SPSL school.  Two of our children are married and we have one grandson.  My wife retired last year after working for Bergan-CHI as a clinical laboratory technologist for 38 years.  I also retired last year from the Omaha police department after working as a crime scene investigator and then as a police officer for 33 years.  I now work part time as a civilian for the city of Omaha. In prior years, I have assisted with the school fundraiser, men’s club, parish festival and Anne’s attic.  I enjoy bicycle riding, going for walks with Molly and working on home improvement projects at my home and now at my kid’s homes.  I look forward to working with the others on the parish council.

Marilyn Valerio (2-2024)
My name is Marilyn Valerio. My husband Vance and I joined St. Pius X in 2017. We have three daughters and eight grandchildren. I grew up in western Nebraska and am the oldest of nine. My undergraduate degree in nursing is from Creighton University and my graduate degrees are from NYU and UNL. We returned to Omaha in1993 after living in several different states over a 23 year period. Moving to different regions in the US provided me experiences that both challenged my thinking and broadened my world view. I have practiced nursing in a variety of settings and retired from Nebraska Methodist College in 2012 having served as Dean of Nursing and as a professor. Since that time, I have been involved with the Nebraska Action Coalition focusing on the role of nursing in health care and building a culture of health in our state. Both Vance and I looked for a parish environment that is welcoming, respects diversity, and promotes open dialogue. We found it here.

Katy Chattin (2-2024)
My name is Katy Chattin. I have been a member of St. Pius X for over 12 years. I’m not sure how long exactly because I chose to come to church here long before becoming a member. I have always felt at home in this parish and know I will be here a long time. My husband Chris and I have 3 children all who are or have attended SPSL. Evan is 8 and Maggie is 12. Aiden will be a Freshman at Creighton Prep in the Fall. I recently decided to return to the classroom this past year after staying home to raise my children. I enjoyed my 6th grade position last year at SPSL and will be there again for the 2018-19 school year. I have taught Religious Ed. for the parish, but have always wanted to get more involved. I am excited to have the opportunity to serve on this council and work with others.
 
Kathie Horvath (2-2025)
My husband, Ron and I have been married for 45 years.  We have no children.  I grew up in North Dakota and Minnesota.  We moved to Omaha in 1980 for our jobs and joined St. Pius X at that time.  I am a retired registered nurse and worked in that profession for 42 years.  I worked at Nebraska Medicine for 34 years in intensive care. I am currently active in the funeral luncheon committee, human needs committee (pantry worker) and Pius Nurses (taking blood pressures after masses).  My hobbies include reading, baking and volunteering when I can.  I am pleased and excited to be offered this opportunity to be on the pastoral council of St. Pius X parish.  A very active and welcoming community.

Barb Houlden (1-2025)
I have the privilege to be married to Tim and honored to be the mother of  Jenny and Steve. Both who attended school St. St. Pius X.
I am interested in The Blues music, basketball and have a new interest in Robotics.
I have participated in Pasta Fridays, and am active in the Francis house, funeral lunches and other ministries. In the past I have helped with Religious Education, Baptism classes and Small Group Bible Studies. I also lector and am part of the supper club (my favorite).
I retired from a career in Social Work and am humbled and in admiration to the people I served in the area of mental health.
Since retirement I answer the phone in the St. Pius rectory and tutor children in the area of reading at a neighborhood school. I am so grateful for the blessings in my life. I look forward to learning as I participate in the Pastoral Council. Thank you for allowing me to serve.
 
Norah Morris (1-2025)
My name is Norah Morris.  I have been a St. Pius X parishioner for over 30 years in total.  I grew up in the St. Pius X parish and attended school here for grades 1-8, graduating in 1989.  I went away for college, then moved back to Omaha and eventually rejoined the parish with my husband, Stacy, and our three children.  Our oldest, Maggie, attended SPSL and will be a senior at Marian High School this fall.  Our middle child, Peter, also attended SPSL and will be a sophomore at Creighton Prep in the fall.  Our youngest, Frannie, will be in 8th grade at SPSL this coming school year.  I currently teach English classes at Metropolitan Community College and work in their Writing Centers, which I have done since 2003.  I have always felt like both the parish and school of St. Pius X are so welcoming and I have enjoyed volunteering in both, but look forward to learning more about how the parish works and serving on the Pastoral Council.  

Faith Kurtyka (1-2025)
My husband, LaRue, and I joined St. Pius in 2021 when our older daughter (now 6) started kindergarten. Our younger daughter, age 4, now attends the Pre-K.  I grew up in Wisconsin, and I converted to Catholicism in 2011 at the St. Thomas More Newman Center at the University of Arizona while I was getting my PhD in English. We moved to Omaha in 2012 and I began my current position on the English faculty at Creighton University. My husband is a teacher at Papillion South High School. We enjoy gardening (indoor and outdoor) and watching movies. I currently serve as a Eucharistic minister at St. Pius and I am excited to get more involved in parish life.

Jerry Klug-(1-2026)

Sam Griffin-(1-2026)
My wife, Danielle, and I have been attending St. Pius X since 2019. Danielle took RCIA instruction and was confirmed into the Catholic Church here and we were married in 2021 at St. Pius X as well. Our daughter Lucy was baptized here in 2023. We owe many of our most joyous moments as a family to St. Pius X, and we are doing our best to give back to this community by remaining involved in the life of the Church. Danielle is one of our two Wedding Coordinators and I serve on the liturgy committee in addition to my new role on the Pastoral Council. I look forward to getting to know as many parishioners as possible and serving the needs of this parish as best as I can!

Trustees
Mary Ellen Freyermuth
I was born in Chicago, IL, am the second oldest of six children, and spent most of my youth in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I attended St. Francis Grade School and Loretto Academy High School.  I graduated magna cum laude from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, with a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in English and a minor in Criminal Justice. I worked in the property/casualty insurance industry for over thirty years, and prior to my retirement in July of 2017, I spent the last twenty-four years as the Manager and Director of Information Technology (IT) for Catholic Mutual Group.  During my tenure at Catholic Mutual Group, I also performed volunteer services for the Insurance Accounting and Systems Association (IASA), where I held a number of positions including Chief Information Officer for the Board of Directors, VP for the Marketing & Communications Committee, VP for the Seminars Committee, and Director of the Executive Education Program.
I have been a member of St. Pius X Parish since 1978, and currently serve as a Lector and a member of the Hospitality Group.  My daughter, Christine, is a graduate of Madonna School, received her First Communion and was Confirmed here at St. Pius X, and currently is an altar server.  My husband, Charlie, my daughter and I have always felt blessed to be part of the St. Pius X family, and I am honored to serve as a Trustee for the Parish.

Jerry Morrissey
I am a graduate of St. Pius X Grade School. I attended college at Southeast Missouri State University and received degrees in Business and Computer Science.
I was a past member of St Pius Parish Council and of the St. Pius finance committee, for 12 years where I served as chair for 10 of those years.
I was owner of  a successful sign business for 30 years until retirement in 2020. Prior to owning my own business I worked for multiple Fortune 100 companies.
I have been married 40 years to my wife Colleen. We have one son Peter who also graduated from SPSL in 2003.  I have been a member of St Pius since 2nd grade.