Parish Staff

Fr. Mark Underdahl Pastor		Fr. Mark was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 1996. He has a profound love for the liturgies of the Church and very much enjoys presiding and preaching at Mass. For relaxation he enjoys the beauty of creation, especially on the North Shore of Lake Superior, going for early morning walks, music, reading, the theater and caring for his five year-old Cairn Terrier, Charlee. He is a Third Degree member of the Knights of Columbus and the Twin Cities Cursillo Community. He loves his life as a priest and cannot imagine doing anything else. The support of his family and friends has been very moving for him. He has felt honored to be invited in as a member of another family and to share with them the joys and sorrows of life. He is very happy and excited about his appointment to Saint Joseph’s and is looking forward to sharing the journey with us. Click here to see photos from Fr. Mark's Installation 1/20/08 photos by Joe Twohy
Fr. Ken Pierre Weekend Assistant
Tom Konkel Deacon
Steve Garner Seminarian		Steve Garner is a seminarian at the St. Paul Seminary studying for the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa. Part of his seminary preparation includes training through a “Teaching Parish Program”. This program provides an opportunity for seminarians to learn pastoral skills in a parish environment. Recently, he was assigned by the seminary to the Teaching Parish Program at St. Joseph’s Parish. Steve was born in 1961 to James and Mary Garner who currently reside in Quincy, Ill. He has three sisters and one brother. They are all married with families of their own. After spending about fifteen years working in the wholesale distribution field, Steve has answered God’s call to the priesthood. He is currently working on an undergraduate degree in theology while attending the seminary. Steve enjoys golf, football and spending time with friends.
Jennifer Hovland Parish Administrator		Jennifer Hovland is the new Parish Administrator at St. Joseph. She joined the staff in November of 2006. She is thrilled to be here and is very excited about all of the opportunities that lay ahead of us as a parish family. She is looking forward to getting to know each of you. Please introduce yourself to her the next time you see her wandering around the hallways or stop by her office. She has been warmly received by the staff and this parish is very blessed to have so many talented and faithful ministers serving here. A cradle Catholic, she has been involved in church ministry her whole life. For the last 7+ years, she has worked for the Church in Faith Formation. The vocation of parish ministry is very important to her and she loves the vision and direction of this parish. The presence of the Spirit is very evident here. The parishioners and staff have joyously pursued a clear mission and direction; it is a great privilege to be part of that. Jennifer and her husband, Jeff, reside in Maple Grove. They have three sons, Luke (9 yrs), Jacob (7yrs) and Caleb (2 yrs). The boys keep them both very busy, but she manages to stay involved in her community by serving as an on-call Firefighter for the city. Jeff and Jennifer both serve in a number of parish ministries. Her family recently acquired a used camper and has spent the summer getting out to many of the wonderful parks around Minnesota. They enjoy swimming and hiking. Winter brings sledding and bonfires. Whenever she can find a few minutes of quiet time, she enjoys reading, puzzles and crafting. Family time includes board games and playing cards.
Eric Larson Director of Music and Liturgy Coordinator
Kathy Indihar Director of Pastoral Ministry		Kathy lives in Plymouth with her two teenage daughters. Kathy’s Pastoral Care responsibilities include planning and assisting at funerals, making home and hospital visits and supervising the Pastoral Care Ministers who bring communion and make weekly visits to those in need. Women’s Spirituality, Grief Ministry, Masses of Anointing of the Sick, Prayer Shawls and the Prayer Network are some of the numerous ministries under her supervision. Kathy has a Masters degree in Pastoral Studies from the University of St Thomas/St Paul School of Divinity. She enjoys her family’s cabin near Ely, reading, movies, walking Buddy (her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) and eating out with friends.
Steve Robach Director Adult Faith Formation, Charity and Justice and RCIA/CIC		Steve is married, has two grown adult children, and has worked in parish ministry for over 30 years as a youth minister and Director of Religious Education. He has master degrees in Religious Education and in Psychology. He sees the forming of spiritually alive adults as one of the most critical needs in our church today. The gradual shift, at St. Joseph’s from a k-12, one hour a week religious instruction model, to a cradle to grave formation model that emphasizes a lively partnership between the home church and the parish center gives him great hope for the future. He is also excited about the growing number of people at St. Joseph’s who are responding to the challenges of living the Social Gospel. His avocations are reading, writing, gardening, motorcycle trips through the back roads of North and South Dakota, and trying to outsmart the squirrels that regularly raid his bird feeders. Currently the squirrels are winning!
Denise Walsh Director of Youth Ministry and Confirmation
Judy Doonan-Twohy Director of Middle School & Sacramental Preparation		Judy’s responsible for Middle School Ministries and helping families prepare for the sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist and Reconciliation. "Middle School Ministries" includes coordinating faith formation programming, fellowship and service projects during the school year as well as offering support to kids and families as needed. During the summer, her work includes the Summer Stretch program and a service trip. Judy has degrees in theology and religious education. She and her husband, Joe, live in Lino Lakes and have two young adult children, Beth and Pat. When time allows, Judy likes to garden, swim, camp, bike, cook and read. Recently she added flying a glider as one of the best things in the world..
Jeanne Degerstrom Director of Early Childhood & Family Ministries		Jeanne began working part time at St. Joseph parish in August of 1993. As the parish grew so did her responsibilities. She has designed a variety of programs to meet the needs of families with young children. She currently coordinates the early childhood programs, the family events, and a fun-filled Vacation Bible Experience each June. Jeanne has a pre-k through grade 6 teaching degree from the College of St. Benedict. She is also a licensed Family Educator pursuing a Master’s Degree in Education through Hamline University. Before coming to St. Joseph’s she taught at Holy Family School in Sauk Centre, St. John the Evangelist in Little Canada and Anoka Hennepin Schools ECFE. Jeanne and her husband, Gary, who are raising 2 boys, work at maintaining a balance of family time versus structured activities in today’s fast paced society. In her leisure time she enjoys reading, traveling, camping and scrapbooking.
Darlene Newman Parish Office Staff		Darlene M Newman has worked for St. Joseph's Parish since April 1, 1976. She was the first lay secretary hired by Sister Elizabeth. Fr. John Wirth was then pastor. She and her husband had two little girls at the time and she wanted part time, not full time, work. Darlene has seen many priests come and go from our parish, changes in the programs we offer, the new building that we built, and hundreds of new parishioners. When she started at St. Joe's we had 850 families. We now have 2400 families! She loves working here and all of the terrific people that she comes in contact with. Since she was the first hired lay person here at St. Joe's she has done a little bit of everything and knows things like where the well is and where the old lift station is for the septic system. She now works with the funerals, does all of the books for parish, and any other jobs that need to be done. Darlene's husband of 42 years, Pete, died last October. She has 2 grown daughters and 7 grandchildren who keep her busy. She also enjoys reading, gardening, and traveling.
Sharon Sheats Parish Office Staff		Sharon Sheats has worked for St. Joseph's Parish since September 17, 1979 when she was hired part time as the Religious Education Secretary. Now she works full time, as the parish secretary, receptionist, and wedding coordinator. She provides general support to the office staff and parishioners. Sharon finds her work interesting and enjoys the variety. She feels very blessed to work for the people of the parish and with the staff. Sharon and her husband of 39 years, Jack, enjoy spending time with their two sons, family, and friends. They also enjoy traveling, camping, the outdoors, plays, art, gardening, animals, and reading.
John Johnson Head Custodian		John Johnson started at St. Joe's March 1st of 2004. John was born in St. Paul and grew up in Vadnais heights. He has been a resident of Lino Lakes since early 1997. In fact, he brags about his short commute to work as he lives 2 blocks away on Elm Street. John is married, has 4 children, and 5 fabulous grandchildren. Prior to working at St. Joseph's John worked as a city maintenance worker for 25 years. his hobbies include gardening, collecting old movies, reading, and raising pigeons. His experience with showing and judging pigeons has made him nationally well known amoung pigeon fanciers. John enjoys his work at St. Joseph, noting that parisioners and co-workers make the work fly by.
Mary Pehoski Administrative Assistant for Faith Formation		Mary Pehoski grew up in the Blaine area, lived in Roseville after marrying and settled three years ago in Lino Lakes. While growing up in Blaine, she was a parishioner at St. Joseph's for several years. Mary has been married to Dave Pehoski for 13 years and they have two children, Steven (11 years old) and Tim (9 years old). As a family, they enjoy swimming, movies, board games and hiking in the North Shore area. Mary enjoys spending time with her family, biking, gardening, rubberstamping, needlework, and reading.
Chris Sauter Director of Elementary Faith Formation and Communications		Chris Sauter coordinates the Elementary Faith Formation program, manages the parish website, and edits the weekly bulletin. Feel free to send bulletin and website submissions, comments, suggestions, or updates to her! Email your bulletin submissions to Chris before Tuesday afternoon. (Please note that over holidays, bulletin deadlines sometimes shift.) Chris and her husband, Brian, have three daughters. In her spare time she enjoys German folk dancing, running, biking, reading and skiing.

Staff at St. Joseph Parish