Brother Celsus John Brown, FSC

Eulogy given by
Br. Peter Furlong, FSC

LEAVE IT TO CELSUS TO HELP CHANGE SCRIPTURE!

In Psalm 90, there is a stanza that reads,

Our life is like a sigh.
Our span is seventy years
Or eighty for those who are strong.”

At that rate, Celsus, at age 98, is a superman!

In the many years that Celsus lived with us in Troy, we always looked upon him as truly unique in so many ways and a joy to live with. His uniqueness brought about the joy of living with him. He was unique in his use of words, especially in the number of them and in the length of time it took for him to say them—which the Brothers can testify to, as can the various audiences over the past eighty years who have sat through speeches, prayers, and his three minute reflections which he turned into twenty minute sermons. He also had favorite words and phrases like “bodacious,” used to describe his occasional colds. When he didn’t hear something, he would frequently say, “Will you run that by me again?” Another favorite word was “Manhattan” as when he spoke about Manhattan College, Manhattan Prep, and of course, “Manhattan straight up on the rocks!” He frequently confused doctors and their secretaries by registering as Celsus, David, John, C John, and Brown with or without an “E”. When he first came to De La Salle Hall, recuperating from a heart attack, he was one of the few who almost talked his way back to community in Troy. The doctor and his Director, Brother Peter Furlong, figured it might be easier to give in rather than to endure a long-winded explanation of why he shouldn’t be here. Fortunately, he stayed and received the world’s best treatment.

At a Manhattan College meeting of jubiliarians ten years ago, Celsus was honored for his seventy years as a Brother. When it came time for Celsus’ award, he stood in a very stately and attentive manner while Brother Stephen McCabe read an introduction to the award. Steve commented, “You have been a true son of St. John Baptist De La Salle for seventy years. You have spent your long career as a religion and math teacher in five different schools with almost forty years in Troy where you have established yourself as a model of what it means to be a Brother. You have taught two Bishops during those years. You spent twelve years as Vice Principal of Discipline. It is rumored that naughty students became very well behaved after having a quiet talk in your office. You have been a Brother to all: students, staff, and Brothers alike.” When Steve’s comments ended, and Celsus returned to his seat, he remarked to the Brother next to him, “I didn’t hear a word he said!”

Celsus was easy to have fun with, and he never got angry with us when we gave him the heat. That was part of his charm. He was also known to the Brothers as a skinflint. The classic story about that quality came from Jim Romond who frequently took Celsus out for dinner following games with no return on Celsus’ part. Finally, one day, Celsus decided to treat Jim in return for all his generous dinners and told him to have as much as he wanted—and they did. When it came time to pay the bill, the waiter mentioned that the bill had been paid by a very generous alumnus who was in the restaurant. On the way out of the restaurant, Celsus turned to Jim and said, “This counts as my treat, you know!”

Much of what has been said in this tribute to Celsus has been along humorous lines, but there is much more to him than the funny stories.

We began this tribute with a quote from Psalm 90 reminding us that our life is like a sigh, reminding us that our usual span of life is approximately seventy years, and for the stronger ones, it could be eighty. To go for ninety and almost a century is truly remarkable. To spend almost one hundred years in the service of others, and to do it with kindness and charity to so many, makes him quite memorable—which he is. He has made an unbelievable impression on thousands of alumni because he educated them so well and remembered most of them and their families by their first names. He left them with a true sense of prayer and a sense of morality. He brought joy into their lives.

No matter how tough he was with them, they always speak of him with deep respect and friendship. A couple of years ago, fourteen alumni in their seventies and eighties rented a van and came two hundred miles to visit him here at De La Salle Hall—a great testimony to someone who left them with so much. What those fourteen did could be replicated by countless other groups of fourteen because that is how highly they still regard him. We thank God for Celsus, for his life, and for his fraternity and for the many, many, many years he has been among us!