May 7, 2025 at 9:09 a.m.

Father Lawrence J. Decker, 75

Father Lawrence J. Decker, Jr.

Father Lawrence J. Decker, Jr., of Perryville, Md., died April 24 in Lewes, Del.

Born July 24, 1949, in Brooklyn, he was the son of the late Lawrence Sr., and Alice Ochs Decker.

Before his ordination, Father Decker was employed at Investors, Inc., in Manhattan, and served honorably with the U.S. Army in Vietnam. After Vietnam, Father Decker moved to Albany and worked at Albany Medical Center in the emergency room as a clerk.

Father Decker attended seminary at Holy Apostles, St. Bernard’s in Rochester and Immaculate Conception in Darlington, N.J. He was ordained on May 19, 1984, by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany.

Father Decker was a retired diocesan priest of Albany, a resident priest of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Perryville, Md., former pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Amsterdam (34 years), associate pastor of St. Mary’s in Oneonta, and a past parishioner of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Albany.

Father Decker is survived by his stepmother, Mrs. Joan Decker; several nieces and nephews; several great nieces and nephews; and longtime friend, Father Jay McKee.

Funeral services were scheduled for May 8 at Good Shepherd Catholic Church. Interment will be in All Saints Cemetery in Wilmington, Del.

Memorial contributions may be made to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Church of the Good Shepherd, or Good Shepherd Conference of St. Vincent De Paul Society in care of Lee A. Patterson and Son Funeral Home, P.O. Box 766, Perryville, Md., 21903-0766.