Brother John Loehr, FSC

1927 – 2016

Words of Remembrance for Brother John Loehr, FSC

Written and delivered by Brother Joseph Jozwiak, FSC
Mass of Christian Burial
St. Patrick’s Church
Syracuse, New York
November 5, 2016

On behalf of Brother Gabriel Fiumano, FSC, myself, the school community at Christian Brothers Academy and the parish community of St. Patrick’s Church, I would like to extend our condolences and sympathy to Brother John’s sister, Judy Piedmont, his brother, Bill “Bing” Loehr, his sisters, Mary and Patty (both of whom are unable to be here today) along with their spouses and Brother John’s nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, grand-nephews and cousins – many of whom are with us this morning.

Brother Gabe and I lived with Brother John in community at CBA until 2012 when he joined the community at De La Salle Hall in Lincroft, NJ, as a result of experiencing a stroke and ill health while here in Syracuse. The Brothers community here in Syracuse has been small in number over these past years and consequently our life together in community with Brother John allowed us to experience the many gifts, talents and skills that he possessed as a result of his varied and extensive work prior to becoming a Brother and during his forty eight years in religious life.

Brother John was a quiet man who was meticulous in all that he did without ever looking for plaudits, recognition or fanfare. He was also a very spiritual person, faithful to both private and communal prayer and the celebration of Mass. His quiet demeanor endeared him to both the adults with whom he worked and the students that he coached on the golf team at CBA. As one of the students on the golf team stated, “Brother John was a great coach, he was patient with the team and did whatever he could to bring out the best in us.”

Brother John’s life, prior to entering the Novitiate in 1968, could be described as a tapestry of many colors. A native of Syracuse, he grew up in Most Holy Rosary Parish and later moved to St. Anthony’s Parish, attended Bellevue Elementary School and later graduated from Onondaga Valley High School. After high school graduation, John entered the U.S. Maritime Service and served during World War II. Subsequent to the war, he joined the Syracuse Police Department and then moved on to Washington, D. C., where he continued to work as a policeman. He later returned to Syracuse from Washington and became a master plumber working for the City of Syracuse. God must have been very active in John’s life as he discerned a call to the life of a Christian Brother entering the Brothers’ Novitiate in 1968.

As a Brother, John attended the College of Santa Fe where he received his Bachelor’s degree in 1972. His experience in ministry as a Brother was as varied and unique as his earlier life. Brother John worked with students as a teacher in a number of schools and specialized in his favorite occupation of working in the field of school maintenance and physical plants in what was then the District of New York, including schools in New York, Michigan, the West Indies and the West Bank of Palestine at Bethlehem University. Most recently Brother John worked in Syracuse at CBA as a member of the maintenance staff, grounds keeper for our athletic fields and golf coach, and of course, finding time for his favorite pastime of making peanut brittle and Irish soda bread.

The scriptural readings for today’s Mass provide us with a wonderful backdrop for appreciating Brother John’s entire life. In the first reading from Ecclesiastes, we hear that “There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.” There truly was an appointed time for Brother John as evidenced by his many and varied life experiences prior to and after entering religious life. There was an appointed time for John’s military experience, his service in the police department, and his many rich experiences in ministry as a Brother of the Christian Schools.

Brother John’s kindness, his sensitivity, his love for working with children, and his dedication to all of his assignments as a Brother, bear witness to this morning’s Gospel reading in which we hear Jesus’ words, “I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. A stranger and you welcomed me. Naked and you clothed me. Ill and you cared for me. In prison and you visited.” Throughout his life, Brother John lived out these words spoken by our Lord. In his 16th Meditation for the Time of Retreat, St. John Baptist de La Salle writes, “What a consolation for those who have procured the salvation of others, to see in heaven a great number whom they have helped attain so great a happiness! This will happen to those who have taught many the truths of religion, as the prophet Daniel as said: ‘Those who instruct many in Christian justice will shine like the stars for all eternity’.”

Today as we commend Brother John Loehr to God, we are confident that he is a shining star in God’s heavenly Kingdom doing what he loved to do . . . maintenance work, tending the fields, and of course, playing golf!

May you rest in peace, Brother John!

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Brother John Loehr, FSC

Born John Lawrence Loehr in Syracuse, NY, on January 9, 1927

Entered the Novitiate on April 5, 1968

Received the Religious Habit on June 29, 1968

Pronounced Perpetual Vows in Lincroft, NJ, in 1974

Died at De La Salle Hall, Lincroft, NJ, on October 30, 2016

Brother John died peacefully in the afternoon at De La Salle Hall. May he rest in peace.

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS:

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Viewing from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

De La Salle Hall
810 Newman Springs Road
Lincroft, NJ 07738-1608

 

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Viewing from 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 am

St. Patrick Church
216 N. Lowell Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13204-2016

Burial at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Randall Road, Syracuse, NY

SUFFRAGES FOR OUR DECEASED BROTHER JOHN:

District: 50 masses
De La Salle Hall community: a few masses; recitation of lauds and vespers
Each community in the District: 1 mass

ASSIGNMENTS:

1972-1973
teacher
Warren, MI
De La Salle Collegiate

1973-1975
teacher and physical plant
Lincroft, NJ
Christian Brothers Academy

1975-1976
teacher
Lincolndale, NY
Lincoln Hall

1976-1981
teacher and physical plant
Lincroft, NJ
Christian Brothers Academy

1981-1987
manager
Jamaica, WEST INDIES
Butchery Trade School

1987-1987
manager of grounds
Lincroft, NJ
De La Salle Hall

1987-1988
director of physical plant
Bronx, NY Manhattan College
(residence: Sacred Heart)

1988-1990
director of physical plant
Bronx, NY
Manhattan College

1990-1992
maintenance
Lincroft, NJ
La Salle Provincialate

1992-1994
facilities manager
Bethlehem, ISRAEL
Bethlehem University

1994-1994
resident
Lincroft, NJ
Christian Brothers Academy Community

1995-1996
working with the poor
Albuquerque, NM
Villa Matthias

1996-1997
maintenance/butchery
Bronx, NY
Highbridge Community Life Center
(residence: Melrose Community)

1997-2005
grounds caretaker
Syracuse, NY
Roosevelt Hall Novitiate and Christian Brothers Academy

2005-2012
grounds caretaker
Syracuse, NY
Christian Brothers Academy

2012-2016
retired
Lincroft, NJ
De La Salle Hall