Francis L. Markey was born in Decatur, Illinois, on October 6, 1908, and grew up in Stockton, California. He was ordained a priest in 1937, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and spent his first several years as a priest in parishes in Albuquerque and Las Vegas, then joined the U.S. Army Airforces at the outbreak of World War II, serving as the only chaplain in the Galapagos Islands during the Pacific campaign.

After the war Father Markey was assigned as pastor of Holy Cross Church in Santa Cruz, California. During his ministry there he helped create Good Shepherd School, built the Christ Child Chapel in the Santa Cruz mountains, and served as editor of theCentral California Register. In 1960 he was named as pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in Capitola, California. During his time there he joined with another parish, Star of the Sea, to create the Good Shepherd School in 1963. In 1968 he became the founding pastor of Resurrection Church in Aptos, California, where he served until he retired in 1974.

After retirement Father Markey volunteered as a substitute priest in a variety of locations worldwide, served as the first president of the Priests Senate in Monterey, California and helped organize the Monterey Bay Memorial and Funeral Society. He lived nearby his former parishes in Santa Cruz, growing his own vegetables and fruit, baking his own bread, and maintaining bee hives for honey. Reverend Monsignor Markey died at his home on July 16, 1999.