William Joseph Dendinger

William Joseph Dendinger (born May 20, 1939) is an American Catholic prelate and former major general of the Air Force who served as bishop of the Grand Island in Nebraska from 2004 until 2015.

Before he was appointed bishop, Dendinger served 31 years in the United States Air Force Chaplain Corps, eventually becoming chief of the Corps.

Biography

Early years William Dendinger was born on May 20, 1939, in Coleridge, Nebraska, the youngest of the six children of David and Regina Dendinger. Raised on a farm, he was a member of the first graduating class of Mount Michael High School in Elkhorn, Nebraska, in 1957. Dendinger then studied at the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Conception, Missouri, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy in 1961. Dendinger then entered the Aquinas Institute of Theology in Dubuque, Iowa, earning his Master of Theology degree in 1964. During his time in the Chaplain Corps, Dendinger was assigned as base chaplain at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, Japan, Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento, California and Hahn Air Base in West Germany.

In 1974, Dendinger was appointed cadet wing chaplain at the U.S. Air Force Academy, serving there for four years.

Retirement On January 14, 2015, Pope Francis accepted Dendinger's letter of resignation as bishop of Grand Island and appointed Monsignor Joseph G. Hanefeldt as his replacement. After retirement, Dendinger celebrated masses in diocese churches for priests on vacation.

Awards and military decorations