Marists All February 2010
ISSUE # 99
From the EDITOR: The May 2010 issue of Marists All will be designated as our one-hundredth issue. May 1987 was the premier issue. Our editorial team listed above cordially invites you to participate in the May issue. Consider sending a note by email or regular mail to any of the editorial team, even if only a few words. Our generous donors over the recent past have given us a bit of a financial cushion so that even if every one on our regular or email list responds, we will print every one! In that regard, kindly send us an update of your email or regular address to keep our records up to date. Thank you!
Marist Spirituality Weekend
Marist College July 9-11, 2010
From JOAN AND JOHN BRADY (‘57): The annual Marist Spirituality Weekend will be held at Marist College from Friday, July 9, through Sunday, July 11, 2010. The weekend will be a time to reflect on our lives and mutually explore what lies ahead. Our theme, Companions on the Journey, reflects the vision of the XXI General Chapter of Marist Brothers concluded in 2009. The Marist Brothers, in striving to gain a new understanding of Champagnat’s spirit, have proclaimed:
“We desire to carry on his dream: as men and women of God… In the light of this Chapter experience, we feel called to respond, as brothers and sisters, witnesses to the loving and maternal face of God.”
There is a powerful dynamic at play, and we want to be part of it. In the words of the Chapter:
“With Mary, we go in haste to a new land! We feel driven by the Spirit of God to go into a new land, to facilitate the birth of a new epoch of Marist charism.”
We are grateful that Br. Sean Sammon, past Superior General, has agreed to join us and give the presentation on Friday evening. After sixteen years in key leadership roles, Sean is, without doubt, the perfect person to set the theme for the weekend ahead. Br. Hank Hammer will be with us on Saturday to share his thoughts on renewal of the Marist spirit and help us reflect on our role in this journey. Also on Saturday, we will be pleased to welcome Alice Miesnik, Assistant Principal for Academics, Marist High School, Bayonne, who has been closely involved in activities related to the Marist laity.
We invite you to join us for this special weekend! Reservations may be made by sending a deposit of $25 to: Maurice Bibeau by June 1, 2010. Checks should be payable to The Marist Brothers. The remaining balance is due upon arrival at Marist College. The cost of the weekend, including six meals and lodging at Marist College, is $185.00 per person or $330.00 per couple. Any questions may be directed to John Brady.
From GENE ZIRKEL (’53): The Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge is now “Walkway over the Hudson.” Join us in July for our annual reunion/retreat/conference, and let’s “walk on water.”
From M. JOHN ‘OKE” O’CONNELL (’58): For those B/brothers, especially, but not exclusively, who were in training in Esopus and/or Tyngsboro, sometime between ’54 and ’60, the “Oh, B/brother, Where Art Thou?” group will hold its Eighth Annual “Gathering” this year in New England. The event is planned for Saturday, August 21, at the home of Ray Landry (’56) in Methuen, MA.
For those who will not be able to participate in August, a single-day gathering will be held (as we did from ‘03’ through ’09) on April 10, in Esopus, but only if there is enough interest.
In either case, for further information and expressions of interest, please connect with me as soon as possible, preferably by email.
From the EDITOR: In addition to the two opportunities listed above, the readers of Marists All may be interested in additional programs to be held at the Marist Brothers Retreat House in Esopus, NY.
Setting the Table for the Marist Community is a workshop/retreat for those who hope to help build up the Marist community at their own locations. The focus will be on self-reflection and leadership. It will be held Sunday through Tuesday, March 28-30, 2010.
Sharing Our Call: Laypeople and Brothers Together in Mission is a program designed to look together at our common invitation to follow in the footsteps of Saint Marcellin Champagnat. It will be held Sunday through Tuesday, April 18-20, 2010.
On the same site you will find the full text of a new Marist publication, Gathered Around the Same Table: The Vocation of Champagnat’s Marist Laity. This book will add greatly to the conversation underway about the vocation of laymen and women in today’s Church. More importantly, the text will help us all take a large step forward in appreciating more fully the important role that Marist laity play today in the life of the Institute and Church. It will also help us appreciate the responsibility we all share for living the charism and furthering the ministry that came into our Church through Saint Marcellin Champagnat. (This new publication should be required reading for all readers of Marists All! Ed.)
In Memoriam
From JOHN O’CONNELL (’58): I would like to acknowledge three of our recently deceased brothers.
John Miller (’57), the "drummer boy" from West Virginia, had left not only the Brothers but also the Church for a period of time during which he became a Methodist minister and pastor. He applied for and was re-instated in the Catholic tradition just several years ago. He fought a long battle with cancer. Larry Whartenby ('57), who visited John in West Virginia not too long ago, and Don Mulcare ('57) re-connected with him during his final years.
Ron Mulholland (’60), originally from New York City, also lived in West Virginia. He was another "brother" found through our OB/bWAT group, wanting very much to join us someday in Esopus for an annual "Gathering."
Matthew McComish (’58), from the Lawrence area, was influenced by the Brothers at Central Catholic and took the habit with our '58 group, leaving Marist College a year early to teach eighth grade at the Mount and later at Cardinal Hayes, St. Agnes, CCHS, and then Tyngsboro. He became a public school teacher and administrator in the Lowell area. Two of his '58 "brothers" brought him from his Andover nursing home, wheelchair and all, blind from diabetes and ill with liver cancer, to the '08 OB/bWAT Gathering for a few days. Having had a physician (Pat Fazzari ’58) "on duty" in Esopus allowed us this special situation. We also hired a private duty CNA to help out. (Matthew was one of the last of the '58 group "found" so far. Of the 33 who took the habit back in '58, 30 have been "found.” The three we are missing are Milo Bushnell (from GA), Charlie Jacklin (MA), and Bob White (NYC). Leads on their whereabouts would be greatly appreciated.)
(The following was culled from Wheeling, WV news sources. Ed.)
Ron Mulholland, 68, died Monday, December 14, 2009, in Ohio Valley Medical Center. Ron was the founder and former executive director of Youth Service Systems, an adjunct professor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Belmont Technical College, and a former Marist Brother serving the congregation for thirty-two years.
Those who knew him remember the longtime Youth Services System administrator as a humble but charismatic man who never turned his back on a child in crisis.
In 1974 he founded Samaritan House in the former residence on 13th Street of the Brothers who had taught at Wheeling Central Catholic. A juvenile court judge began allowing him to take youthful offenders into his care. That facility still operates from its current location at Eoff Street. He asked the bishop if he could utilize the building for some socially redeeming purpose while his plan was developing. The shelter’s focus was to serve runaways, children from abusive homes, neglected kids, and those who lived on the streets.
An associate of his, John Nanny, former county juvenile probation officer, said: “We basically never gave up on a kid.” This can-do attitude was complemented by Ron’s persuasiveness. When seeking new locations for shelters, for example, he could disarm a crowd of angry neighbors. The Rev. Jim Ellison, a former Youth Services System board member, recalled: “He would go into a meeting full of hostile community people and explain his vision in such a way that, by the end of the night, people would literally be volunteering to help him out.”
Memorial contributions may be made to Youth Service Systems, PO Box 6041, Wheeling, WV 26003.
From FRED LAMBERT '59: Ron Mulholland and I re-connected in the last few years; he also was on the staff with me at Wheeling Jesuit University. Typical Ron, he was grading papers in his hospital bed the day he died; he didn't want the students to suffer because of his lung cancer. He did incredible work here in the Wheeling area with disadvantaged and troubled youth. His life is a testament to all that was/is valuable about our Marist roots.
I think Ron came down to Wheeling and taught at Central Catholic High School when the Brothers were here. When they pulled out of the school, he stayed in Wheeling and worked with troubled youth. He founded and served as the executive director of Samaritan House, a home for troubled young men ages 12-18. That venture grew to also include a facility for young girls, abused spouses, and, most recently, another program for the homeless.
President Obama recently honored him for his life's achievements. He received that honor about a month before his passing. Indeed, a great man who impacted the lives of thousands of young men and women, whom others had too easily cast aside: “If you do it for the least of my brethren….”
(Following are excerpts of articles appearing more thoroughly on the Marists All website. The latest obituaries and/or eulogies appearing on the website are acknowledgements of the deaths of Br. Cornelius Russell (’47) and Dr. Richard LaPietra (’50). Ed.) (Click here for full obituary page for Br. Cornelius Russell.)
From RICHARD FOY: (From Catholic New York, November 2009) Br. Cornelius Russell, who served for more than thirty years at Marist College, died on October 27, 2009, at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. He was 89. At the College he taught management and economics, led the establishment of the Department of Business and Management, and was the College’s first controller. He also taught at St. Helena’s High School (now Msgr Scanlan) in the Bronx and in West Virginia. Since 2002 he had resided at Cabrini Center in Manhattan.
From DENNIS MURRAY, President of Marist College (through Tim Massie, college spokesman): It is with the deepest regret that I inform you of the passing of one of the true giants in the history of Marist College on February 10, 2010. Dr. J. Richard LaPietra, professor emeritus and heritage professor, died at the age of 77 after a long illness, his beloved wife, Barbara, at his side.
Richard was a man of deep faith and strong intellect. He lived his faith daily and it infused every aspect of his life. He had a six-decade-long relationship with Marist College and impacted it in virtually every way. As a student, he literally helped build the Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel. As a professor, he was a master teacher who served as an inspirational mentor and advisor to thousands of students of all ages. As academic dean, he provided leadership for our faculty and set a high standard for all to meet. But Richard was happiest when he was at the blackboard, chalk in hand, expanding and enlightening minds.
To inaugurate a new Award for Teaching Excellence in 1990, the Marist Board of Trustees selected Richard as the honor's first recipient….
Although he retired in 2000, Richard continued to teach courses on a limited basis for two additional years. When their careers in the classroom ended, Richard and his colleague Gus Nolan founded the Retired Faculty Association, which has been socially and intellectually active for many years. Richard was named professor emeritus by the Marist Board of Trustees in 2002 and was named a Marist Heritage Professor in 2003 in recognition of his extraordinary tenure and leadership.
Richard truly enjoyed music and made it a part of the Marist culture. As a student, he was schooled in Gregorian chant and singing in harmony. He was instrumental in founding the College’s music program and wrote the Marist Song. His voice was strong as a cantor at Mass, and Richard said no faculty party in the 60s was complete without a session around the piano singing familiar tunes….
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Marist Brothers. Messages of condolence may be sent to Barbara LaPietra.
Brother George Kopper '60 From Catholic New York February 25, 2010
Brother George Kopper F.M.S. who taught at St. Agnes Boys High School in Manhattan for the last 11 years, died February 17 at St. Luke's Hospital. He was 68
He previously taught at Marist Brothers' schools in Chicago IL and in Jackson, Miss and at the Marist Brothers International School in Kobe, Japan, and the Catholic Seminary in Tokyo.
Born in New York City, he entered the Marist Brothers in 1960 and professed final vows in 1966. he earned a bachelor's degree at Marist College in Poughkeepsie and a master's at DePaul University in Chicago
He is survived by two sisters, Mary Ryan and Ann McGahran.
A Funeral Mass was offered February 20 at St. Benedict's Church, the Bronx, with burial in the Marist Brothers' cemetery in Esopus.
Brother Vito Aresto. We received word that Brother Vito Aresto died on 28 February 2010. No further details available at this time.
From BILL REID (alumnus): I was recently doing some online searches for some of the Brothers whom I had the pleasure of meeting during my years at Marist High School in Bayonne 60-64. I have gone through Marists All and found it to be a great source of information
To this day I will tell anyone that Marist had a profound influence on me as a person and helped me achieve beyond what I possibly would have without the Marist High School experience. My senior class size was under a hundred. As a result, we all knew each other very well. What I have found during my online searching is the exceptional, successful men these boys grew into. Lots of great memories from back then.
Some of the Brothers at the time were: Leo Richard, Arthur Xavier, Ciaran Thomas, Stephen Bernard, Vincent Jerome, Francis Mary, Patrick Martin, Hugh Arthur (a real pistol!), Leo Sylvius, and Francis Martin. What a kick they all were. God Bless.
From the POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL (excerpt from an article written by John Davis, staff member, courtesy of Richard Foy):
Three long-time employees of Marist College have been honored by being invited into the fold of the Marist Brothers of the United States as affiliates: Shaileen Kopec, Robert Lynch, and the Rev. Richard LaMorte. The ceremony took place at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel on the Marist College campus.
Shaileen Kopec joined the Marist College staff in 1972. She served as vice president for college advancement for fourteen years and assisted the Marist Brothers nationally as chair of the Brothers’ development committee. She is currently the college’s senior development officer.
Bob Lynch has been affiliated with the college for thirty-eight years. After graduating from Marist in 1975, he worked part time as a college residence hall assistant director and mentor. He joined the college activities office in 1987. In 1994 he was named to his current post, director of student activities.
Father Richard LaMorte, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, first joined Marist as chaplain in 1976, then became assistant dean of students. After several parochial assignments in Dutchess County, he returned in 2000 to Marist as chaplain and campus minister.
Source: Original Marists All Site
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