Retirement Didn't Stop Milt Honel from Teaching; He Just Changed His Textbook

Every week, 82-year-old Milt Honel makes his way to DuPage County Jail, Bible in hand. He’s a familiar face among the staff members  there—and the inmates, who are either awaiting trial or serving sentences of up to one year.

For the last 13 years, the Elmhurst resident has taught Catholic Bible study sessions to the men incarcerated there. It seems a far cry from his days as a principal at Edison, Washington and Field schools, where he worked over a 19-year period until he retired in 1993.

He also served one term on the Elmhurst District 205 School Board.

So what prompted him to shift his focus from elementary students to inmates in 1997?

Honel credits his wife, Rosalie. She noticed a small entry in the bulletin at Visitation Parish, where they attended services at the time.

“Jay Janousek, a deacon at Visitation, put a blurb in the parish bulletin asking if any parishioner was interested in prison ministry,” Honel said. “I really didn’t want to do it, but my wife thought I should at least give Jay a call.”

 Honel contacted Janousek and agreed to attend an orientation session at the jail.

 “I decided that I could volunteer to lead a Catholic Bible study session once per week,” Honel said.

The study format varied as different volunteers would come and go, but it always centered on the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Honel, who has a doctorate degree from Northern Illinois University, has had different volunteer teaching partners over the years, including Wheaton resident Monty Anderson, who is a retired Army officer and 18-year veteran of prison ministry. Honel and Anderson began with the gospel of John, taught for several months the book of Revelation, and then returned to the gospels.

Eventually, Anderson left his work at the jail so he could focus on helping troubled youth.

J.U.S.T. (Justice, Understanding, Serving, Teaching) of DuPage, a nonprofit agency that provides social service programs to inmates, helps Honel locate other volunteer teachers when needed.  

Honel’s partner since 2004 has been Michael Kinkley, a semi-retired environmental engineer who lives in Wheaton.

“Michael brought a lot of structure to the study,” Honel said. “He introduced a great study to the inmates that was written by a Jewish person who had converted to Catholicism.”

 Every session is rewarding, Kinkley said.

“The inmates are willing to share at a level that you don’t often find,” Kinkley said. “They are trying to find a better way for their lives, but like any other human being, they struggle with bad habits and addictions. And, they are looking to Jesus Christ to help them out.”

Kinkley said there are a lot of emotional moments during the studies, because a lot of the inmates struggle with personal issues that landed them in jail in the first place. But he’s always impressed that they cope as well as they do.

Kinkley and Honel had so much confidence in one young inmate, for example, that they gave him their personal phone numbers so he could stay in touch with them after he was released.

That is absolutely forbidden, Honel said, but the young man called them only once to say he was doing OK.

Both Kinkley and Honel say working with the inmates has changed their perspective on incarceration.

 “The way we do it (in the United States) is lock them up and throw the key away,” Honel said. “But other countries don’t do that. They rehabilitate. All we do is punish, punish, punish.”

Of course, crime should not be overlooked, Kinkley said.

“We need to be called on the carpet. But on the other hand, I’m not sure jail is the best solution,” he said. “They need more help than just spending time in jail. More dollars should be spent on prevention.”

Honel said that in countries like Austria and Germany, the goal is to have the prisoners learn skills that will help them live better lives after they are released.

“The message in the U.S. is that inmates are bad people,” Honel said. “So consequently there are many repeat offenders.”

The Bible message is part of the plan to reduce recidivism.

“We welcome Catholics, Protestants–anybody,” Honel said.

Honel has recently decided to retire from his work at DuPage County Jail. At 82, he feels he’s ready for a rest.

Kinkley will miss Honel.

“Milt is a vibrant person,” Kinkley said. “He's had a lot of years to draw from personal experiences (to) share with the guys.”