By Juanita Yates
He has now retired and is unable to use his gift of carpentry as much as he once did. But Matt Ronchetto has enough examples of his skill and talent around Immaculate Conception parish in Kirksville to last a lifetime.
Matt was born of Italian parents in Bevier. He lived in Novinger for a while where he worked in the coal mines until 1945.
In 1941 he and his wife Marguerite opened a grocery store, Ronchetto’s Grocery, in Kirksville. He would work in the coal mines eight hours, then work in the store. Later he went into carpentry work and this is when he became a valuable part of the volunteer work force of Immaculate Conception parish.
When the new church was remodeled, new altars and a Baptismal font were needed. These Matt made. The beautiful wooden main altar, altar of repose and baptismal font were all made of matching wood materials by Ronchetto.
“Well, we needed them, so I made them,” he said simply.
He also remodeled the upstairs of the Sisters’ home and built a tabernacle
for their chapel. He made the confessionals for the church with Jim
Higgins. Carl Eagan did the electrical work.
Ronchetto has built cabinets and remodeled the school and gym, built
hymn racks for the church. This was his most recent contribution.
His expertise was used not only at Mary Immaculate Church but also
at the Newman Center located between the campuses of Northeast Missouri
State University and Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. Here he
built an altar for use of students and instructors who worship there.
Matt and his wife have one son, Matthew, of Ankeny, IA who is in construction.
Lay ministry had not yet come into its own when Matt Ronchetto began
his mission of creating beautiful work in wood for the church, but this
was his ministry.
When Father Mike Flanagan left Mary Immaculate parish in July 1982,
he said there was no way the parish could repay Matt Ronchetto for all
the repairs and work he had done for the church.
Today Matt Ronchetto goes fishing, goes to Mass and helps out when
he can. The beautiful woodwork, altars and other furnishings stand as a
silent testimony of one man’s idea and implementation of returning his
time and talent.