The Paul J. Trageser Council was founded June 17th, 1992, through the efforts of
the members of the St. Thomas More Mens Club.
St. Thomas More Church started
as a chapel for the University of North Carolina area Catholic community. The
first structure, The Chapel of St. Thomas More, was built on Gimghoul Road on land
donated by a parishioner. The church was built in the 1950's and supported a
small, loyal Catholic parish. During the early church years, local knights
joined with knights in nearby Durham for fellowship and fraternalism. The
church grew steadily and we soon fount it too small to support the rapidly expanding membership. Our present
church building was built on nearby Carmichael Road and was dedicated in 1998.With the explosive growth of Catholics
in North Carolina during the late 1980's, the men realized their dream to create
a Chapel Hill council. The initial leadership included Sir Knight Paul J. Trageser,
who led the men of the community and encouraged their charter of a Chapel Hill
Council. Unfortunately, Paul died just before the dream for a parish council
was realized. The council was named in his honor, as he epitomized the ideal
catholic gentleman and father. He carefully balanced building his family and the
church community in the service of the Lord.
Paul J. Trageser Council works closely
with parish priests, community outreach centers, and others to provide funds for
various projects. A special project of the council is support for those
suffering with mental retardation and the Special Olympics
program.