David Folkes

David Folkes was a former Passionist priest from Australia and a retired addictions and employee assistance counselor in the U.S. In retirement, David also became passionate about the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and other vulnerable and marginalized groups. All his life, David was driven by a sense of compassion and commitment to being of service. In spite of a lifelong shyness, David embodied a genuine sense of welcome. He was funny, friendly, gentle, and kind.

Born Peter David Folkes, he was raised in a suburb of Sydney by parents who were deeply involved in service through their church/school community. He was ordained David (they already had one Peter at Seminary) and served as a Passionist priest until 1972, when he came to the U.S. to seek a master’s in counseling psychology at Loyola. There he met a young nursing student, Mary May, whose dedication to service equaled his own. In 1978 he resigned the priesthood to follow in his father’s footsteps as a husband and father. He and Mary had two children, Sarah and Andrew.

Seeking a career that would engage his counseling skills and his sense of meaning and purpose, David was drawn to the addiction treatment field. There he found countless opportunities to witness, catalyze, and support the transformation of human lives through recovery. He was also active in the development of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) field.

In 2009, David and Mary were divorced and David moved back to Australia, intending to retire there. What he found were two extraordinary opportunities. When he took a temporary post tutoring indigenous Australian children in a community near Alice Springs, David fell in love with the community, the children, and their spirituality. And when he began visiting detained migrants near Darwin, David found a powerful sense of identification with and commitment to the well-being of displaced and detained refugees and asylum seekers.

In 2012, residency requirements brought him back to Evanston, where he found a vibrant church community, including many kindred souls on the Peace and Justice Committee at St. Nicholas Parish (now St. John XXIII). He also grew closer to Pam, a long-time friend in the behavioral health field who was caring for her aging mother in Downers Grove. After Pam’s mother’s death in 2015, he moved in with her, and by 2016 they had both moved back to her home in Chicago. Pam sang in the choir at St. Pauls Church in Lincoln Park, and David soon became beloved of that community, too. Even as he aged and lost strength and ability, David continued to lead with his heart.

In January of 2025, David’s and Mary’s daughter Sarah died of kidney failure (from diabetes) at age 42. A year later, David was diagnosed with an aggressive neck cancer. After successful surgery, he opted not to receive radiation and instead started hospice care at home. Six months later he had a bad stroke, and he died in his sleep after eight days of steady decline.

David and Sarah were close, and those of us who love them like to picture them conspiring together in heaven on ways of making the world more kind, more respectful, and more just.

There will be two memorial services, each followed by a reception:

 October 19 at 10 a.m. at St. Nick’s (Pope John XXIII parish), 806 Ridge Avenue, Evanston (Livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/live/BI-T9uiSm94.)

 November 21 at 10 a.m. at St. Pauls Church, 2335 N. Orchard Street, Chicago. (Please check back for Livestream link.)

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to: Illinois Community for Displaced Immigrants (https://icdichicago.org/), Plan International (https://plan-international.org/), or PAWS Chicago (https://www.pawschicago.org/).

Arrangements by Inclusive Funeral Care, 773-318-1305 or www.InclusiveFuneralCare.com.