Memorial Service Set For Tulsa Catholic School Principal

The memorial service for a popular, longtime Catholic school administrator in Tulsa has been set.

Pete Theban died Monday, October 17, 2016. He was 64. He was in his eleventh year as principal of Marquette Catholic School in Tulsa. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September.

The Diocese of Tulsa says it will hold a funeral mass for Theban at 1 p.m. on Thursday, October 27 at Holy Family Cathedral in downtown Tulsa. After the mass, the diocese will hold a reception in the gymnasium at Marquette Catholic School.

Jim Pohlman, superintendent of Catholic schools for the diocese, says the reception will start at about 3 p.m. and is open to the public.

Pohlman said Theban was principal at Monte Cassino for 20 years before moving to Marquette.

"You don't come around people like him very often," Pohlman said. "He was an exceptional man taken far too soon."

Pohlman said he knew Theban for 34 years and they raised their kids together. He said Theban deserves all the accolades he's received since his death.

"He wouldn't accept them when he was alive, but now that he's gone it's a different story," Pohlman said.

Pohlman said the diocese has no plans to replace Theban this school year. Tracey Robinson, the assistant principal at Marquette, will run the school, he said.