Fr. Walter J. Plimmer
Actor on Broadway prior to ordination. Indexed in the 1943 Official Catholic Directory as a U.S. Army chaplain and with the suffix s.s., indicating he was a priest of the Society of St. Sulpice. In 1944 Plimmer was assigned to a Diocese of Trenton parish. Assigned 1946-1947 to St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. By 1948 he is shown as a priest of the Diocese of Steubenville, apparently having left his order. He was a College of Steubenville (run by the T.O.R. order) faculty member and public relations director. Plimmer was first named publicly as accused by the Diocese of Steubenville on its list 10/31/2018, noted to have been suspended from ministry in 1956. A 1959 news article states he was on leave from a Bohemia, NY parish. He died 9/16/1968 in Brooklyn, NY. Per his obituary, Plimmer resigned in 1959 from active parish work and did mission work in CA, AZ and NM. Included in 3/2021 on the Rockville Center diocese’s list of accused, name misspelled “Plimner.” It notes he wasn’t assigned there and that abuse allegedly occurred in a private house, a motel, and on a boat. Added in 2/2026 to the Gallup diocese’s list of credibly accused.
- The Guardian (Little Rock) 06.30.34
- Cincinnati Enquirer 06.17.34
- Lexington Herald-Leader 05.26.47
- Indiana Gazette 01.21.49
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram 07.12.59
- Lexington Herald-Leader Obituary 09.17.68
- WTOV 10.31.18
- Diocese of Steubenville List 10.31.18
- Diocese of Rockville Centre List 03.18.21
- Diocese of Gallup List 02.2026
Sources:
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