Father Robert Onze, a beloved retired priest from the Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut, who retired in 1997, has died after a short illness, on Wednesday morning, January 20, 2010, at the Oaks Nursing Home in Avon Park. Father ‘Bob,’ who was 77 years old, served as a priest for 46 years in the Diocese of Bridgeport, in St. Catherine’s, Sebring, and in Our Lady of Grace Parish, Avon Park. Here in Avon Park and Sebring, he was known for his love of people, especially the sick, whom he visited frequently in hospitals, nursing homes and private homes. He loved to sing – even singing grace before and after meals. His homilies were laced with humor and self-effacement. He had that happy knack of being in the right place at the right time to give people ‘a lift.’ Whenever you met Father ‘Bob’ you always left feeling good about yourself. He exposed the fallacy, “How to win friends and influence people” by just “being a friend.” There was no ‘quid pro quo.’ At the end of our lives what really matters is ‘how did we treat people?’ On that score, Father ‘Bob’ ‘touched’ thousands of lives in a way that left his world a better place. His spirit will continue to pulsate in the thousands of lives he touched as a priest over the last forty six years. May God grant him eternal rest?