St. John XXIII Parishioner Profiles
"Someone You Should Know" is an ongoing series of written articles profiling St. John XXIII parishioners who live an exemplary life in our Catholic faith, have a servant’s heart, and are an inspiration to others. Sara Burson serves as our interviewer and journalist. This ministry, first envisioned by Fr. Jean-Philippe Lokpo, seeks to joyfully celebrate our diverse and faithful parishioners.
Click HERE to read the selection criteria and nominate someone we should know.
Parishioner Profiles
Bud Sents (June 29, 2025)
Bud and Margaret Sents, Summer 2025. Photo by Sara Burson. (Click to enlarge.)
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Recently, Bruce (Bud) Sents (BS) met with Sara Burson (SB) and shared the story of Bud’s 30 years in St. John XXIII Parish. His wife, Margaret, (MS) facilitated the conversation as needed.
SB: Is there anything you would like to share about your childhood? Where were you born? Where did you grow up? BS: I was born in Blue Island. I have two sisters. SB: Were you raised in Blue Island? BS: No, I was raised in Roseland. SB: Where did you go to school? And did you go to college? BS: I went to Roseland Christian School. I continued my education after high school at Trinity Christian College (Palos Heights). It was only a two-year school. I finished college at the University of Illinois in Champaign. |
SB: Did you go on for graduate work.
BS: No.
MS: But he took and passed the CPA exam.
SB: That is a hard exam to pass.
MS: The department at U of I cranks them out (laughter).
SB: After college, did you come back to the Chicago area?
BS: Yes.
SB: What did you do?
BS: I worked for a public accounting firm, Touche Ross.
MS: You didn’t mention your being drafted?
BS: Yes, I was drafted into the Army during that time.
SB: When would this have been?
BS: 1968-70. And I was lucky enough to remain stateside in Washington, DC.
SB: Wow. Yes.
MS: Yes, so many of his friends had the other experience.
SB: So, you went to the public accounting firm.
BS: Yes, and worked there for five years. I then went to Searle, where I finished my career.
SB: Did you retire just before the renovation at St. Nick’s?
BS: I retired in June, 1999. I worked for the renovation for 1 ½ years. I enjoyed it.
MS: Father Oldershaw put the shoulder on him.
SB: Yes, he and Sr. Christina have been known to do that sort of thing (laughter).
BS: After the renovation, I went downtown to the Archdiocese and volunteered there for about 10 years. I worked for Jimmy Lago.
MS: Jimmy was the first non-clergy chancellor for the Archdiocese of Chicago.
BS: Initially, I closed churches and did non-liturgical things. I eventually ended up in real estate with another volunteer, Ron Laurent.
SB: How long have you lived in Glenview?
BS: We have lived in Glenview for 30 years.
SB: So, when you joined St. Nicholas, you were coming from Glenview. You never lived in Evanston.
MS: We lived in Evanston when we were Newlyweds. Searle was purchased by Monsanto and Bud was transferred to St. Louis for about five years. When he was transferred back up here, we moved to Glenview.
SB: So, tell me how you found St. Nicholas? It certainly wasn’t your local parish.
BS: No. We thought it was the warmest parish in the area.
SB: But how did you even know about St. Nicholas?
MS: Bud, shall I tell her the school search story?
BS: Yes.
MS: When we were transferred back up here, we assumed we would go back to Evanston and our teenage boys would attend Loyola Academy. Loyola, however, would not accept mid-year transfers—Bud and the boys moved to Chicago in January. So, Bud came up with the two boys and looked at the various Catholic school opportunities. The boys settled on St. Viator in Arlington Heights. Our daughter thought it only fair that she also have the opportunity to choose the school she would attend. So, I came up and looked at schools with her. She chose Pope John XXIII as her school. That meant we were going to have one kid in Evanston and two in Arlington Heights. So, we stretched a string between the two schools on a map and tied a knot in the center of the string to determine where we would live. We bought a house in Glenview (laughter).
SB: That makes perfect sense. And that’s how you found St. Nicholas, right?
MS: Yes, we got to know the parish that way. Also, church is a community. It is not just a place to worship. We found a great community. That really is the bottom line.
SB: Yes. So many of us feel the strong pull of community in our parish.
SB: So, when did your daughter begin at Pope John XXIII?
MS: I stayed down in St. Louis with her until the house was sold. She started there in the fall of 1995.
SB: So, that is essentially when you became parishioners?
BS: Yes.
SB: So, you had been in the parish before you were asked to help with the renovation.
MS: Oh yes. At our initial interview with Fr. Oldershaw, he shared with us the story about Mario Ramos and Steve Young. That was all fresh at that point.
BS: I was corporate controller of Monsanto in St. Louis. And Presbyterian—Christian Reformed
MS: Are you talking about when you became a Catholic?
BS: Yes.
SB: Oh! Wait! We definitely need to hear this story! So, you were not raised Catholic? What denomination did you grow up in? You were Presbyterian?
MS: Not only Presbyterian, but Dutch Reformed. No dancing. No cards (laughter).
SB: So, let’s go back a bit. Where did you get married? Were you married in the Catholic Church?
MS: Yes. We were married in DuPage County at St. Petronille Church. We were actually married at the Institute of Blessed Mary convent in Wheaton by my uncle, who was a priest. Those were the nuns who taught me high school and how to play the piano. St. Petronille was my parish growing up and blessed our wedding at the convent.
SB: This is fascinating. So, tell me about your faith journey, Bud. You are Catholic now, correct?
BS: Yes.
SB: Did you go through RCIA?
BS: Yes, I went through RCIA at Holy Redeemer Church in Webster Grove, Missouri. My sponsor, who has since died, was the husband of Margaret’s cousin.
MS: Yes, Tom was a wonderful person. He died suddenly from cancer in 1994. His son was only a young child. His wife, my cousin, is a hospital chaplain.
SB: That is so sad. I am so sorry. So, what year did you go through RCIA?
BS: 1993.
SB: So, what made you decide in 1993 to become Catholic?
BS: Margaret was teaching our kids and I felt obligated to participate.
SB: You, Margaret, were managing the religious education of your kids? And you, Bud, felt you should participate? That is a good reason.
MS: I think the pastor also inspired you. He was a wonderful pastor.
BS: Yes.
Ms. There wasn’t a judgmental bone in that man’s body.
SB: So, do you want to talk a little bit about what it was like to be the project manager for the renovation of St. Nicholas? What did it mean for you? How much time were you spending physically at St. Nicholas?
BS: I was there three or four days a week.
SB: What were your responsibilities?
BS: It was wonderful.
SB: Did you work closely with Tina Neff?
BS: Yes
SB: Because wasn’t she, as liturgy director, more or less the staff person responsible for the renovation?
MS: I think Bud was more about making the small dollars spread to the large picture. Because they had all these wants and a budget that was small. Isn’t that right, Bud?
BS: Yeah. We watched our dollars and Sr. Christina sold the extra Christmas Creche.
MS: (Laughing) I remember this. Sr. Christina was going through the basement and finding all this stuff in storage. She found an extra Creche. So, she sold it.
SB: Okay. So, you were mostly trying to manage the funds to maximize what we could get—to prioritize the wish list?
MS: Yes. And you know we are rich in artists (laughter)—Bud is an artist too, so he could understand them—but he also needed to make it work.
SB: You also chaired the Finance Council for several years, correct?
BS: Yes, I was chair when Fr. Oldershaw asked me participate in the renovation. And they had been planning for the renovation for ten years.
SB: Can you tell me roughly what years you were on the Finance Council?
BS: After Mike Ward.
SB: Okay. You joined the parish in 1995. Would you say it was around 1997 that you joined the Council?
BS: Yes.
SB: So, how long were you on the Council? I remember you stepped down when Kim Carter was the business manager.
BS: Yes. We hired Kim, who was preceded by Paula Ruel.
SB: Yes. Kim was our first full-time business manager.
BS. Yes. That is right. In about 2000.
SB: Do you remember when you stepped down off the Council?
BS? Yes. I thought I was doing too much.
MS: (laughing) That is the problem with being retired, you know? You have to know when to say no.
BS: That’s right.
SB: Is there anything more you want to tell me about your memories about St. Nick’s? Do you have anything about the renovation that you like most? Or take pride in?
BS: The Stations of the Cross. We postponed the renovation of Oldershaw Hall.
SB: When was it originally going to happen?
BS: It was going to be part of the church renovation.
SB: I am trying to remember when that happened. You are referring to putting in the elevator and ramp—making Oldershaw Hall accessible to all, right?
BS: Yes. I think it happened in 2002 or 2003
SB: Is there anything else you want to share about the renovation?
BS: Yes. We painted over the murals on the walls in the church. And the predecessor of Fr. Oldershaw (Fr. Flaherty) was painted in the murals.
SB: Was that a unanimous decision to paint over those murals? Or was there some pushback?
BS: It was unanimous. (laughter)
MS: I love to see him laughing. Thank you for getting him laughing today.
SB: Laughter is good.
MS: Yes.
SB: I have a few more questions. Do you want to talk about your Parkinson’s Disease today? We don’t have to include it.
MS: Well, I have to say, he has talked more today than he has in a long time. I could have stepped away. He has done a beautiful job.
BS: I got Parkinson’s four or five years ago. And it progressively has caused mental and physical degeneration of my well-being.
SB: I know that you don’t attend Mass except for on very rare occasions. Is it because of this? I know there is not a lot of good that came out of the pandemic. But the live streaming of Mass has been such a gift. Do you sometimes stream Mass?
BS: Oh, yes. We stream most Sundays. I hope it continues.
SB: There is an entire ministry of people who are sharing the responsibility of streaming Mass. I think there is a lot of support for that in the parish.
SB: So, I think we should talk a little bit about you, Margaret. You are a parishioner as well. Please tell me your story of St. Nicholas and what things you were involved in.
MS: Well, since we were living in Glenview and Mary was at Pope John XXIII in Evanston, I was the taxi for four years—back and forth, twice a day (laughter). Around that, I did various volunteer work. I was distracted. I remember calling a meeting and failing to show up. Maybe not quality volunteerism from this quarter. But I love Sr. Christina.
SB: But I know from my time on the staff that you organized the Craft Fair. When did you start that?
MS: I inherited it from Beata Welsh, I think. It was easy to inherit. It was hard to offload (laughter).
SB: Did Sr. Christina reel you in for that?
MS: Yeah.
SB: What else do you want to tell me about?
MS: Rummage Sale. I headed up the children’s department for many years. I couldn’t seem to let that go (laughter). Talk about hard to pass off.
SB: Well, it seems like you are a couple with a servant’s heart and faith that is an inspiration to others. Thank you for your service.
BS: No.
MS: But he took and passed the CPA exam.
SB: That is a hard exam to pass.
MS: The department at U of I cranks them out (laughter).
SB: After college, did you come back to the Chicago area?
BS: Yes.
SB: What did you do?
BS: I worked for a public accounting firm, Touche Ross.
MS: You didn’t mention your being drafted?
BS: Yes, I was drafted into the Army during that time.
SB: When would this have been?
BS: 1968-70. And I was lucky enough to remain stateside in Washington, DC.
SB: Wow. Yes.
MS: Yes, so many of his friends had the other experience.
SB: So, you went to the public accounting firm.
BS: Yes, and worked there for five years. I then went to Searle, where I finished my career.
SB: Did you retire just before the renovation at St. Nick’s?
BS: I retired in June, 1999. I worked for the renovation for 1 ½ years. I enjoyed it.
MS: Father Oldershaw put the shoulder on him.
SB: Yes, he and Sr. Christina have been known to do that sort of thing (laughter).
BS: After the renovation, I went downtown to the Archdiocese and volunteered there for about 10 years. I worked for Jimmy Lago.
MS: Jimmy was the first non-clergy chancellor for the Archdiocese of Chicago.
BS: Initially, I closed churches and did non-liturgical things. I eventually ended up in real estate with another volunteer, Ron Laurent.
SB: How long have you lived in Glenview?
BS: We have lived in Glenview for 30 years.
SB: So, when you joined St. Nicholas, you were coming from Glenview. You never lived in Evanston.
MS: We lived in Evanston when we were Newlyweds. Searle was purchased by Monsanto and Bud was transferred to St. Louis for about five years. When he was transferred back up here, we moved to Glenview.
SB: So, tell me how you found St. Nicholas? It certainly wasn’t your local parish.
BS: No. We thought it was the warmest parish in the area.
SB: But how did you even know about St. Nicholas?
MS: Bud, shall I tell her the school search story?
BS: Yes.
MS: When we were transferred back up here, we assumed we would go back to Evanston and our teenage boys would attend Loyola Academy. Loyola, however, would not accept mid-year transfers—Bud and the boys moved to Chicago in January. So, Bud came up with the two boys and looked at the various Catholic school opportunities. The boys settled on St. Viator in Arlington Heights. Our daughter thought it only fair that she also have the opportunity to choose the school she would attend. So, I came up and looked at schools with her. She chose Pope John XXIII as her school. That meant we were going to have one kid in Evanston and two in Arlington Heights. So, we stretched a string between the two schools on a map and tied a knot in the center of the string to determine where we would live. We bought a house in Glenview (laughter).
SB: That makes perfect sense. And that’s how you found St. Nicholas, right?
MS: Yes, we got to know the parish that way. Also, church is a community. It is not just a place to worship. We found a great community. That really is the bottom line.
SB: Yes. So many of us feel the strong pull of community in our parish.
SB: So, when did your daughter begin at Pope John XXIII?
MS: I stayed down in St. Louis with her until the house was sold. She started there in the fall of 1995.
SB: So, that is essentially when you became parishioners?
BS: Yes.
SB: So, you had been in the parish before you were asked to help with the renovation.
MS: Oh yes. At our initial interview with Fr. Oldershaw, he shared with us the story about Mario Ramos and Steve Young. That was all fresh at that point.
BS: I was corporate controller of Monsanto in St. Louis. And Presbyterian—Christian Reformed
MS: Are you talking about when you became a Catholic?
BS: Yes.
SB: Oh! Wait! We definitely need to hear this story! So, you were not raised Catholic? What denomination did you grow up in? You were Presbyterian?
MS: Not only Presbyterian, but Dutch Reformed. No dancing. No cards (laughter).
SB: So, let’s go back a bit. Where did you get married? Were you married in the Catholic Church?
MS: Yes. We were married in DuPage County at St. Petronille Church. We were actually married at the Institute of Blessed Mary convent in Wheaton by my uncle, who was a priest. Those were the nuns who taught me high school and how to play the piano. St. Petronille was my parish growing up and blessed our wedding at the convent.
SB: This is fascinating. So, tell me about your faith journey, Bud. You are Catholic now, correct?
BS: Yes.
SB: Did you go through RCIA?
BS: Yes, I went through RCIA at Holy Redeemer Church in Webster Grove, Missouri. My sponsor, who has since died, was the husband of Margaret’s cousin.
MS: Yes, Tom was a wonderful person. He died suddenly from cancer in 1994. His son was only a young child. His wife, my cousin, is a hospital chaplain.
SB: That is so sad. I am so sorry. So, what year did you go through RCIA?
BS: 1993.
SB: So, what made you decide in 1993 to become Catholic?
BS: Margaret was teaching our kids and I felt obligated to participate.
SB: You, Margaret, were managing the religious education of your kids? And you, Bud, felt you should participate? That is a good reason.
MS: I think the pastor also inspired you. He was a wonderful pastor.
BS: Yes.
Ms. There wasn’t a judgmental bone in that man’s body.
SB: So, do you want to talk a little bit about what it was like to be the project manager for the renovation of St. Nicholas? What did it mean for you? How much time were you spending physically at St. Nicholas?
BS: I was there three or four days a week.
SB: What were your responsibilities?
BS: It was wonderful.
SB: Did you work closely with Tina Neff?
BS: Yes
SB: Because wasn’t she, as liturgy director, more or less the staff person responsible for the renovation?
MS: I think Bud was more about making the small dollars spread to the large picture. Because they had all these wants and a budget that was small. Isn’t that right, Bud?
BS: Yeah. We watched our dollars and Sr. Christina sold the extra Christmas Creche.
MS: (Laughing) I remember this. Sr. Christina was going through the basement and finding all this stuff in storage. She found an extra Creche. So, she sold it.
SB: Okay. So, you were mostly trying to manage the funds to maximize what we could get—to prioritize the wish list?
MS: Yes. And you know we are rich in artists (laughter)—Bud is an artist too, so he could understand them—but he also needed to make it work.
SB: You also chaired the Finance Council for several years, correct?
BS: Yes, I was chair when Fr. Oldershaw asked me participate in the renovation. And they had been planning for the renovation for ten years.
SB: Can you tell me roughly what years you were on the Finance Council?
BS: After Mike Ward.
SB: Okay. You joined the parish in 1995. Would you say it was around 1997 that you joined the Council?
BS: Yes.
SB: So, how long were you on the Council? I remember you stepped down when Kim Carter was the business manager.
BS: Yes. We hired Kim, who was preceded by Paula Ruel.
SB: Yes. Kim was our first full-time business manager.
BS. Yes. That is right. In about 2000.
SB: Do you remember when you stepped down off the Council?
BS? Yes. I thought I was doing too much.
MS: (laughing) That is the problem with being retired, you know? You have to know when to say no.
BS: That’s right.
SB: Is there anything more you want to tell me about your memories about St. Nick’s? Do you have anything about the renovation that you like most? Or take pride in?
BS: The Stations of the Cross. We postponed the renovation of Oldershaw Hall.
SB: When was it originally going to happen?
BS: It was going to be part of the church renovation.
SB: I am trying to remember when that happened. You are referring to putting in the elevator and ramp—making Oldershaw Hall accessible to all, right?
BS: Yes. I think it happened in 2002 or 2003
SB: Is there anything else you want to share about the renovation?
BS: Yes. We painted over the murals on the walls in the church. And the predecessor of Fr. Oldershaw (Fr. Flaherty) was painted in the murals.
SB: Was that a unanimous decision to paint over those murals? Or was there some pushback?
BS: It was unanimous. (laughter)
MS: I love to see him laughing. Thank you for getting him laughing today.
SB: Laughter is good.
MS: Yes.
SB: I have a few more questions. Do you want to talk about your Parkinson’s Disease today? We don’t have to include it.
MS: Well, I have to say, he has talked more today than he has in a long time. I could have stepped away. He has done a beautiful job.
BS: I got Parkinson’s four or five years ago. And it progressively has caused mental and physical degeneration of my well-being.
SB: I know that you don’t attend Mass except for on very rare occasions. Is it because of this? I know there is not a lot of good that came out of the pandemic. But the live streaming of Mass has been such a gift. Do you sometimes stream Mass?
BS: Oh, yes. We stream most Sundays. I hope it continues.
SB: There is an entire ministry of people who are sharing the responsibility of streaming Mass. I think there is a lot of support for that in the parish.
SB: So, I think we should talk a little bit about you, Margaret. You are a parishioner as well. Please tell me your story of St. Nicholas and what things you were involved in.
MS: Well, since we were living in Glenview and Mary was at Pope John XXIII in Evanston, I was the taxi for four years—back and forth, twice a day (laughter). Around that, I did various volunteer work. I was distracted. I remember calling a meeting and failing to show up. Maybe not quality volunteerism from this quarter. But I love Sr. Christina.
SB: But I know from my time on the staff that you organized the Craft Fair. When did you start that?
MS: I inherited it from Beata Welsh, I think. It was easy to inherit. It was hard to offload (laughter).
SB: Did Sr. Christina reel you in for that?
MS: Yeah.
SB: What else do you want to tell me about?
MS: Rummage Sale. I headed up the children’s department for many years. I couldn’t seem to let that go (laughter). Talk about hard to pass off.
SB: Well, it seems like you are a couple with a servant’s heart and faith that is an inspiration to others. Thank you for your service.
Jerry Rosemond (June 1, 2025)
Jerry Rosemond, Spring 2025. Photo by Sara Burson.
(Click to enlarge.)
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Recently, Jerry Rosemond (JR) met with Sara Burson (SB) and shared the story of his 60-plus years in St. John XXIII Parish.
SB: Is there anything you would like to tell me about your childhood? JR: I was born in Ashville, North Carolina. My mother passed when I was ten years old. Her sisters from Evanston and Detroit came down for the burial and then took my siblings and me to be with them. Four went to Evanston and I went to Detroit. SB: And you were raised by an aunt in Detroit? JR: Yes, I was raised by one of her sisters there. I went to grade school and high school there. SB: Hold on. I want to be sure I understand. Were you all scattered? Or were some of your siblings together? JR: My three brothers and one sister were here in Evanston. SB: Was that hard? JR: Not really. My mother was very close to all of her sisters. SB: So, you saw the rest of the family often? JR: Oh, yes. My aunt here in Evanston had two sons. My aunt in Detroit had one son when I moved to be with her. But then she had two more children while I was living with her. We were back and forth visiting between Detroit and Evanston. It was a wonderful life for us. We stayed together. |
SB: After high school, what did you do?
JR: I was looking to go to college. The uncle who lived here in Evanston worked at the post office. He was a Veteran and a custodian at the post office on Davis Street. He suggested I come to work there. He said he could help me get a job.
SB: So, did you work as a custodian? Or a mail carrier?
JR: I was a mail carrier. I came to Evanston on a Monday and he took me to the post office on Tuesday. At that time, you could take the tests and those things later, once they checked your background. Thursday I was working!
SB: And how long were you a mail carrier?
JR: Let’s put it this way. I was 18 when I went into the postal service. I enrolled at Roosevelt University downtown Chicago. I took night classes and delivered mail during the day.
SB: Did you get a degree from Roosevelt?
JR: No, I didn’t.
SB: How much coursework did you do?
JR: Abut two years.
SB: What did you study when you were there?
JR: I was in music education and psychology.
SB: Why did you leave school?
JR: I met my future wife Delores. She was in school?
SB: How did you meet her? Was she a student at Roosevelt?
JR: No. Actually, I was her mail carrier.
SB: I love that!
JR: People say it is a story we should write a book about. Long story short—she was going to school at Oakton Community College. We were married at 20 years old.
SB: Where did she live? In Evanston?
JR: She was born in Mississippi but lived in Evanston. I came to Evanston in 1958 and she came a little bit later.
SB: When did you get married.
JR: 1962.
SB: Were you married at St. Mary?
JR: No, we were married at our home. Actually, I was Methodist.
SB: Was Delores raised Catholic?
JR: Yes.
SB: So, you joined the Catholic Church because of your union with Delores.
JR: Yes. Our daughter Angela was born in 1963 or 64 and was baptized at St. Mary.
SB: So, you were members of St. Mary after you were married?
JR: Well, Delores was. I wasn’t. Angie went to St Mary school and then ETHS. She did it all—basketball, track, volleyball.
SB: Tell me about Delores? Did she stay home with Angie when she was little?
JR: Yes, for a bit. Then she worked nights at Honeywell. Something to do with thermostats. And I worked days. We didn’t want anyone else to keep our baby. Delores had two sisters here and her mother as well. They helped a lot.
SB: How long did she work nights?
JR: For quite a while. And we both tried to go back to school. But it just didn’t pan out. I have to be honest with you. We did things together. We were 20 years old when we married. We grew up together. That’s why I can’t say anything about what I did without including her. We did everything together.
SB: That is beautiful. How lucky for the two of you that you found each other.
JR: Yes. It is one of those miracles.
SB: So, tell me about your life at St. Mary.
JR: Well, you have a wife that belongs to St. Mary. You have a husband that doesn’t like to complicate things. I went to church with them. Now and then I would go to my church.
SB: Did you join the church? Did you go through RCIA?
JR: Yes, in 2006.
SB: Why then? What made you decide at that point? You went to Mass regularly for many years before that.
JR: I am tagging along like I have been all those years. One day, she looked at me and said, “You know, you go to Mass all the time. You are here all the time. Why don’t you go through RCIA and become Catholic.” I said, “okay” (laughing).
SB: You had been attending Mass for many, many years. I’ll bet many people didn’t know you were not Catholic.
JR: They didn’t. I didn’t participate in everything, but people didn’t notice.
We had a home up in Wisconsin for 25 years and went to Mass there too.
SB: Where in Wisconsin?
JR: About 45 minutes south of the Dells. We built it ourselves, from the ground up. It is a nice community. We have a family there. We sold it awhile ago, but some of them came to Delores’ funeral last year.
I went through the system at the post office.
SB: What does that mean?
JR: I started as a carrier, and then was promoted to manager. I didn’t want to be a manager, but I did it for many years. Then they started a program in the post office—for carriers and management to learn how to work together. We were part of the Chicago division. Out of the division, they had two facilitators to be trained for our division. Two carriers and two management. I was one of the two managers to be selected. We went to Ohio to be trained to be a facilitator—helping union members and management learn to work better together. We were all from different post offices within the division.
SB: Wow! Only two managers chosen from the entire division. That is quite an honor. Right?
JR: Yes. I am not going to say it wasn’t.
We went to Ohio for two months in 1986 for training. People came from all over the country for the training. Once we were trained, we went into every office in the division teaching management and craft (union) how to work better together. We had a process. We had the office set up a team of management and craft. We held seminars. Sometimes if we had a lot of people to train, we would bring them together downtown Chicago. We had to monitor how they were doing. We would meet with the leader of the unions. To be honest, the post office became better by working together.
SB: It must have been so rewarding when you had success.
JR: We started this because it was necessary. It was good. I am a team person. I know who I am. I am not intimidated by people. I do my job. I am not the smartest person, but no one can outwork me.
Eventually, I retired from the postal service. But then they called me back as a consultant when the Chicago division was having all kinds of problems. I was asked to develop a team to help straighten things out.
After I finished that, they called me back again when they changed the mail system. I went all over the country to establish data for how the mail should be routed and sorted. When the mail comes into the local post office now, it is already sorted. Mail carriers don’t have any part in that anymore.
I had to travel all over the country to get data. We went to Minnesota, California, New York. It was good. I was going to places I wouldn’t have been able to visit. And I could pay half and bring Delores with me. I loved Minnesota because I am a fisherman.
SB: That is a lovely story. Alright. So, now, let’s return to St. Mary’s. Up until 2006, you regularly attended Mass, but your involvement was not beyond that. Was you wife more involved? Did she volunteer?
JR: Oh, yes!
SB: Tell me what she was involved in.
JR: She was a Eucharistic minister, sacristan. All that kind of stuff.
SB: If she was asked, she said yes.
JR: Yes, she did. Everyone loved Delores.
SB: Tell me about Delores’ career. What kind of work did she do after nights at Honeywell?
JR: She went to American Hospital Supply Corporation as a secretary. She became a manager there. Then she went to Baxter when they acquired American Hospital Supply. She ended her career at Hadley School for the Blind. She was a proofreader until 2017, when she retired.
SB: So, if she was a proofreader, did she know Braille?
JR: She taught herself while she worked there.
SB: I am sorry I didn’t get to meet her.
JR: She was sick for a long time. Dementia runs in Delores’ family. It is devastating. My daughter and I took care of her for over 13 years. We were a team. The three of us were always a team. I just didn’t want to put her in a home. We waited as long as possible. She was there for a few years and received very good care. We did what we had to do.
SB: Tell me about your volunteer work at St. Mary. We have been sharing so much. Now it is time to hear about this.
JR: One of our greatest honors was being selected as a couple to receive the Interfaith Action Vision Keeper award for St. Mary in 2013.
I was head of the ushers, on the buildings and grounds committee, active in the soup kitchen, a member of the parish pastoral council, Knights of Columbus, a eucharistic minister, and a member of the parish choir.
SB: Are you still in the choir?
JR: Oh, yes. Our choir is a family. They all knew Delores. I don’t know how I would have gotten through those years without their support.
SB: So, once she went into the nursing home, you were able to rejoin the choir. That must have been a gift in the midst of the pain.
JR: Yes. And I was able to return to being a eucharistic minister. And the funeral ministry—I forgot to mention that earlier.
SB: When did you move her to the nursing home? Was this during the pandemic?
JR: It was shortly after we were vaccinated. I am thankful we could be together at home during the lockdown.
SB: You have told me your story. Is there anything we have forgotten?
JR: You have to remember she was part of anything I did.
SB: That seems a perfect place to end. Jerry, thank you for being an inspiration to all of the St. John XXIII community with your humble service.
JR: I was looking to go to college. The uncle who lived here in Evanston worked at the post office. He was a Veteran and a custodian at the post office on Davis Street. He suggested I come to work there. He said he could help me get a job.
SB: So, did you work as a custodian? Or a mail carrier?
JR: I was a mail carrier. I came to Evanston on a Monday and he took me to the post office on Tuesday. At that time, you could take the tests and those things later, once they checked your background. Thursday I was working!
SB: And how long were you a mail carrier?
JR: Let’s put it this way. I was 18 when I went into the postal service. I enrolled at Roosevelt University downtown Chicago. I took night classes and delivered mail during the day.
SB: Did you get a degree from Roosevelt?
JR: No, I didn’t.
SB: How much coursework did you do?
JR: Abut two years.
SB: What did you study when you were there?
JR: I was in music education and psychology.
SB: Why did you leave school?
JR: I met my future wife Delores. She was in school?
SB: How did you meet her? Was she a student at Roosevelt?
JR: No. Actually, I was her mail carrier.
SB: I love that!
JR: People say it is a story we should write a book about. Long story short—she was going to school at Oakton Community College. We were married at 20 years old.
SB: Where did she live? In Evanston?
JR: She was born in Mississippi but lived in Evanston. I came to Evanston in 1958 and she came a little bit later.
SB: When did you get married.
JR: 1962.
SB: Were you married at St. Mary?
JR: No, we were married at our home. Actually, I was Methodist.
SB: Was Delores raised Catholic?
JR: Yes.
SB: So, you joined the Catholic Church because of your union with Delores.
JR: Yes. Our daughter Angela was born in 1963 or 64 and was baptized at St. Mary.
SB: So, you were members of St. Mary after you were married?
JR: Well, Delores was. I wasn’t. Angie went to St Mary school and then ETHS. She did it all—basketball, track, volleyball.
SB: Tell me about Delores? Did she stay home with Angie when she was little?
JR: Yes, for a bit. Then she worked nights at Honeywell. Something to do with thermostats. And I worked days. We didn’t want anyone else to keep our baby. Delores had two sisters here and her mother as well. They helped a lot.
SB: How long did she work nights?
JR: For quite a while. And we both tried to go back to school. But it just didn’t pan out. I have to be honest with you. We did things together. We were 20 years old when we married. We grew up together. That’s why I can’t say anything about what I did without including her. We did everything together.
SB: That is beautiful. How lucky for the two of you that you found each other.
JR: Yes. It is one of those miracles.
SB: So, tell me about your life at St. Mary.
JR: Well, you have a wife that belongs to St. Mary. You have a husband that doesn’t like to complicate things. I went to church with them. Now and then I would go to my church.
SB: Did you join the church? Did you go through RCIA?
JR: Yes, in 2006.
SB: Why then? What made you decide at that point? You went to Mass regularly for many years before that.
JR: I am tagging along like I have been all those years. One day, she looked at me and said, “You know, you go to Mass all the time. You are here all the time. Why don’t you go through RCIA and become Catholic.” I said, “okay” (laughing).
SB: You had been attending Mass for many, many years. I’ll bet many people didn’t know you were not Catholic.
JR: They didn’t. I didn’t participate in everything, but people didn’t notice.
We had a home up in Wisconsin for 25 years and went to Mass there too.
SB: Where in Wisconsin?
JR: About 45 minutes south of the Dells. We built it ourselves, from the ground up. It is a nice community. We have a family there. We sold it awhile ago, but some of them came to Delores’ funeral last year.
I went through the system at the post office.
SB: What does that mean?
JR: I started as a carrier, and then was promoted to manager. I didn’t want to be a manager, but I did it for many years. Then they started a program in the post office—for carriers and management to learn how to work together. We were part of the Chicago division. Out of the division, they had two facilitators to be trained for our division. Two carriers and two management. I was one of the two managers to be selected. We went to Ohio to be trained to be a facilitator—helping union members and management learn to work better together. We were all from different post offices within the division.
SB: Wow! Only two managers chosen from the entire division. That is quite an honor. Right?
JR: Yes. I am not going to say it wasn’t.
We went to Ohio for two months in 1986 for training. People came from all over the country for the training. Once we were trained, we went into every office in the division teaching management and craft (union) how to work better together. We had a process. We had the office set up a team of management and craft. We held seminars. Sometimes if we had a lot of people to train, we would bring them together downtown Chicago. We had to monitor how they were doing. We would meet with the leader of the unions. To be honest, the post office became better by working together.
SB: It must have been so rewarding when you had success.
JR: We started this because it was necessary. It was good. I am a team person. I know who I am. I am not intimidated by people. I do my job. I am not the smartest person, but no one can outwork me.
Eventually, I retired from the postal service. But then they called me back as a consultant when the Chicago division was having all kinds of problems. I was asked to develop a team to help straighten things out.
After I finished that, they called me back again when they changed the mail system. I went all over the country to establish data for how the mail should be routed and sorted. When the mail comes into the local post office now, it is already sorted. Mail carriers don’t have any part in that anymore.
I had to travel all over the country to get data. We went to Minnesota, California, New York. It was good. I was going to places I wouldn’t have been able to visit. And I could pay half and bring Delores with me. I loved Minnesota because I am a fisherman.
SB: That is a lovely story. Alright. So, now, let’s return to St. Mary’s. Up until 2006, you regularly attended Mass, but your involvement was not beyond that. Was you wife more involved? Did she volunteer?
JR: Oh, yes!
SB: Tell me what she was involved in.
JR: She was a Eucharistic minister, sacristan. All that kind of stuff.
SB: If she was asked, she said yes.
JR: Yes, she did. Everyone loved Delores.
SB: Tell me about Delores’ career. What kind of work did she do after nights at Honeywell?
JR: She went to American Hospital Supply Corporation as a secretary. She became a manager there. Then she went to Baxter when they acquired American Hospital Supply. She ended her career at Hadley School for the Blind. She was a proofreader until 2017, when she retired.
SB: So, if she was a proofreader, did she know Braille?
JR: She taught herself while she worked there.
SB: I am sorry I didn’t get to meet her.
JR: She was sick for a long time. Dementia runs in Delores’ family. It is devastating. My daughter and I took care of her for over 13 years. We were a team. The three of us were always a team. I just didn’t want to put her in a home. We waited as long as possible. She was there for a few years and received very good care. We did what we had to do.
SB: Tell me about your volunteer work at St. Mary. We have been sharing so much. Now it is time to hear about this.
JR: One of our greatest honors was being selected as a couple to receive the Interfaith Action Vision Keeper award for St. Mary in 2013.
I was head of the ushers, on the buildings and grounds committee, active in the soup kitchen, a member of the parish pastoral council, Knights of Columbus, a eucharistic minister, and a member of the parish choir.
SB: Are you still in the choir?
JR: Oh, yes. Our choir is a family. They all knew Delores. I don’t know how I would have gotten through those years without their support.
SB: So, once she went into the nursing home, you were able to rejoin the choir. That must have been a gift in the midst of the pain.
JR: Yes. And I was able to return to being a eucharistic minister. And the funeral ministry—I forgot to mention that earlier.
SB: When did you move her to the nursing home? Was this during the pandemic?
JR: It was shortly after we were vaccinated. I am thankful we could be together at home during the lockdown.
SB: You have told me your story. Is there anything we have forgotten?
JR: You have to remember she was part of anything I did.
SB: That seems a perfect place to end. Jerry, thank you for being an inspiration to all of the St. John XXIII community with your humble service.
Gordon Ducharme (April 27, 2025)
Gordon Ducharme, Spring 2025. Photo by Sara Burson.
(Click to enlarge)
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Recently, Gordon Ducharme (GD) met with Sara Burson (SB) and shared the story of his 60-plus years in St. John XXIII Parish.
SB: Would you like to tell us something about your childhood? GD: Well, I grew up in Wisconsin, in a little country town called Eastman. It was a little farming community. I went to grammar school there and to high school in the neighboring town. Starting when I was in eighth grade, I worked on farms during the summer. I lived on the farm with the owners from the time I started in the spring until I went back to school in September. I did that every year until I graduated from high school. SB: What did you do after high school? GD: I joined the service. At that time, you were drafted for the Army at 18. You could also volunteer. My brother and I both volunteered for the Army and we went to Ft. Leonard together. I knew if I stayed around home, I probably would have looked for a job and gotten married. I met my wife Mary in high school. We were together 2 ½ years in high school. And she worked in the general store in our small town. She worked there until I got out of the service. |
SB: So, you were together for 2 ½ years, then you went off to the Army and she worked in the general store while you were away?
GD: Yes. And then we got married in June 1956, when I got out of the service. Shortly before that, when I got out of the service, I came to Chicago and got a job at Bell & Howell. I rented a small apartment on Maple and Dempster. We lived there when we were first married.
SB: What did you do for work?
GD: I spent 41 years at Bell & Howell and retired from there.
SB: What did you do there?
GD: Well, I did a little bit of everything for a few years. Then I was made a supervisor, and shortly after that, I was made a foreman. I was a foreman of two camera lines until they were shipped off to Japan. After 25 years at Bell & Howell, I was terminated. You don’t get laid off when you are on executive payroll and I was an executive. But I was off for only 90 days. I was looking for other jobs but I couldn’t find anything that was comparable to what I had. One superintendent I had been working for called Mary while I was out looking for jobs. He told her he wanted me to come in – that he had a job for me.
SB: So, you were gone for 90 days and then went back and finished your 41 years.
GD: (laughing) Yeah. He said if you come back, we will try to give you something comparable to what you had before. So, after that, I worked on a number of different jobs at Bell & Howell until I retired in 1996 at age 61.
SB. Did you and Mary have a family? I have known you for a long time but I met you after any children would have been raised and gone.
GD. Yes. We have four children, 2 boys and 2 girls.
SB: Where did they go to school?
GD: They started at St. Mary and then, when we moved to St. Nicholas parish, they changed to St. Nick’s. Mike and Charlene finished their seventh and eighth grade at Chute. But the other two kids started at St. Mary, then went to St. Nick’s, and graduated when it had become Pope John XXIII. All of the kids went to Evanston High School.
SB: So where did they receive the sacraments?
GD: I think they had most of them at St. Nick’s.
SB: So, you have deep roots in both legacy parishes, because you were members of each parish for a long time. Tell me about your journey.
GD: We started at St. Mary and came to St. Nick’s when we moved to south Evanston. After the renovation at St. Nick’s in 2000 we went back to St. Mary.
SB: What made you feel that St. Mary was a better home for you?
GD: After the renovation, Mary was not comfortable at St. Nick’s with the altar in the round. So, I said, “If that’s the case, we started at St. Mary and we can go back there.” We both liked it. We spent a lot of years at St. Nick’s. We were happy in both parishes.
SB: I got to know you through your St. Vincent de Paul work when I was on the staff at St. Nicholas. Tell me about your volunteer work? Did you do anything outside of St. Vincent de Paul?
GD: No. And how I got into St. Vincent de Paul was because my aunt lived in St. Mary parish. I happened to be at her house and a friend of hers who was in St. Vincent de Paul at St. Mary’s came by. He asked me if I would go to the St. Vincent de Paul meeting because he was going to be out of town. He wanted me to read the minutes because he was the secretary. He asked if I would do that and I said, “Sure, that would be fine.” He went out to his car and brought in his little satchel. So, I brought the satchel to the meeting and read the minutes. But he never came back for the satchel. So, I just took over the secretary job for a while. I don’t remember who was president, but I remember Fr. Cunningham was the pastor at the time. So, anyhow, that’s how I got into St. Vincent de Paul. I actually knew nothing about it until I went to the meetings and found out about it.
SB: Isn’t it funny that something that became such a big part of your life happened totally by chance?
GD: Yes, that is what it was.
SB: Some would say that is the Holy Spirit at work.
GD: Yes. And the other members were all much older. They were guys who would have been as old as I am now—I will turn 90 this year. They couldn’t remember when the meetings were and kept forgetting to attend them. So, we started having the meetings at the home of one of the men. I would pick up the other two and bring them to the meeting. Then I knew we would all be there (chuckles).
SB: Right. And you were young at this point, still in your twenties, right?
GD: Yes, definitely.
After I was St. Mary’s for a while, we ended up moving to St. Nick’s. There were some older gentlemen in the conference there but they had some disagreements among themselves. So, the conference was just dropped. George Hyland asked me if I would help him get the conference restarted. He said he would be the secretary/treasurer if I would be president. So that is how we started it.
SB: So, you have been doing St. Vincent de Paul work for over 50 years?
GD: I would say it is closer to 60 years. After I got into the conference and went to a few meetings, I found out I was the youngest guy in St. Vincent de Paul at the time. I learned it when John Luft and I were late to a district meeting (probably one of the few times I was ever late to a meeting) and there were about 30 people there. They all got up, clapped, and told me I was elected president of District 3. I was president twice for three-year terms, and then I finished a term for someone else who had to step down when I was vice-president. When I was president of District 3, it was comprised of 13 parish conferences. I had contact with all of the conferences. All of those members were so much older than I was. That’s when I really found out I probably was one of the youngest ones in St. Vincent de Paul.
SB: Are you still active in St. Vincent de Paul?
GD: No. I am retired now (laughing).
SB: What are some of the highlights of your time in St. Vincent de Paul? What did you find inspiring? What kept you doing it for so long?
GD: Well, it was some of the members I worked with, such as George Hyland, Richard Girard, and Mike McGinty. I can’t remember all of them. Mike joined a little later because his father Art was in St. Vincent de Paul at St. Jerome’s—I knew him from district meetings. How I met Art is a funny story. He always wore a hat to District meetings. One windy night after a meeting, his hat blew off and I was able to chase after it and catch it. When Art moved into the St. Nick’s parish later one, he joined our chapter. It was nice to have him working with us. Mike was my secretary/treasurer for the two terms that I served as District president. He was more help to me than anybody because he was a writer. He worked for newspapers and was very good at that sort of stuff. I always told him that it would have been very difficult as District president were it not for him. He knew how to organize it all.
SB: What are some highlights of your work as president?
GD: As a District president we went to a meeting every three months down at the central council, which was held downtown at Catholic Charities. They let us use their space. Those meetings were always started with a Mass. It was a nice get together.
SB: What about your time doing the work of St. Vincent de Paul in the parish? I recall from my time working with you when I was on the staff at St. Nicholas that you tried to meet with people who needed help. You did not simply give them money. You tried to help them improve their situation.
GD: That was the big part of St. Vincent de Paul and what I liked more than anything. Two of us always went together on a visit. We sat down with and talked to people, finding out what their problem was. Mike and I always pretty much agreed that when we went in to talk to people, we let them explain to us what the problem was and what they needed. We weren’t trying to be people who were there to tell them what they should do. We found that if we let people tell us what their problem was and how it was disturbing their life, in most cases they figured out their own solution. We gave them guidance sometimes, or helped them look for a job. But I think most of them solved their own problem. Sometimes, there had been mismanagement, but more than anything it was just plain bad luck.
SB: I suspect that work made you very grateful for the good fortune in your own life.
GD: Yes, indeed.
SB: Would you say the St. Nick’s and St. Mary’s conferences worked together? Did you each tend to know what the other was doing?
GD: Somewhat, but we were definitely independent from one another. We had the same goal of helping those in need, but we had different processes. After the two parishes were unified, we became a single conference.
SB: Were you still volunteering at that time.
GD: I was still attending meetings, but I was phasing out. Honestly, after unification, the different processes of the two legacy conferences made the merger of the two conferences challenging. I am guessing many parish ministries have experienced similar challenges. It has been challenging to bring the two legacy conferences together and have a single approach. Now that I have retired from the ministry, my job is to pray for future success.
SB: I remember putting you in touch with families when I was on the staff. You were always available to take our call and then connect with families in need.
GD: Anytime we could help someone it was very rewarding. And we would visit anyone within our conference area. People did not have to be St. Nick’s parishioners. In fact, they didn’t have to be Catholic. I remember going with Mike McGinty to a Jewish lady in Rogers Park. She told us she was surprised that St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic organization, would help Jewish people. I told her we help anyone who needs help if we can. We paid her rent for two months after her husband died. We never heard from her again other than a phone call thanking us for coming to help a Jewish lady.
SB: So, she just needed that little bit of help for two months, while she got back on her feet.
GD: Yes.
SB: So, you might have kept someone from being homeless. It certainly seems that you were answering a call through your St. Vincent de Paul work.
GD: Yes.
Well, it was interesting. Many of the people working in St. Vincent de Paul had been through the depression. Three or four conferences out of the 13 in the district were pretty well to do parishes. They had good St. Vincent de Paul groups. But they thought they were supposed to save the money people gave them. They didn’t understand they were not supposed to hold onto the money. If an opportunity showed up, they were supposed to use the money to help people. By the time finished my first term as district president, I had them all switched around. I got them to donate their extra money to the district if they either didn’t have the staff to make visits, or if there were no visits to be made—in some conferences there weren’t that many poor people. There is always someone coming to the district from one of the poorer parishes that doesn’t have the money to help everyone coming to them. We at the district had the money to help them.
SB: That is a beautiful thing. You were able to make a difference not only in your own parish, but throughout the district—in 13 parishes. By leading the district, you helped all the conferences understand how St. Vincent de Paul should work. You had a great impact on a larger area. That had to feel good.
GD: Well, yes, it did.
People have been generous. The leaders of the conferences at St. Joseph and St. Francis Xavier in Wilmette told me they would help anytime we needed more funds. And there were several widows at St. Nick’s who told me to stop by anytime we needed money. They would write a check. I got a lot of money that way.
And Fr. Oldershaw took me under his wing when he was pastor. He told me to get in front of people in the parish every once in a while. He said we needed to let them know how we use money donated to St. Vincent de Paul. He helped me prepare for those talks. He would have me practice in the church with him. He was so nice to take the time and work with me. When I gave those talks, people would come up to me and hand me money on the way out of church. I would collect $400-$500, just from the talk. There are a lot of generous people at St. Nick’s. I tried to make them understand that if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be doing what we are doing. They are the ones doing the work.
SB: (laughing) Well, they were providing the funds for you to do the work.
GD: They were. That’s right. And we figured out how to use the money to help people. People gave us the money because we knew the best way to use it. I liked the work. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have stuck with it for so many years.
SB: One thing we haven’t talked about is Mary. Tell me about her. Did she work outside the home while your children were growing up?
GD: Yes. She worked with the lunch program at Oakton for one year while Jo Ellyn, our youngest, was in kindergarten there. Then after that, when Jo Ellyn was at Pope John XXIII, Mary was offered the job of librarian. She retired from Pope John XXIII after 20 years. It’s a good thing you brought up Mary, because I wanted to say something about her and St. Vincent de Paul. As I mentioned earlier, there were 13 conferences in the district. As district president, I was supposed to go to a meeting at each conference every year. Mary, and often two or three of the kids, would go with me. Sometimes we got a babysitter for the kids if the meeting was in the evening. I always told the other St. Vincent de Paul members that a lot of women would have divorced me after two terms as District president, with all the time I spent with that. As John Luft said, our wives are a part of St. Vincent de Paul. That is what I always told them at the district meetings.
Mary died in November, 2020.
SB: Oh my, during the pandemic. Were you able to be with her?
GD: Yes, she passed right here at home. I had wonderful caregivers who took care of her. They slept in the spare bedroom and became comfortable here. They even prepared their food in the kitchen. I told them our house was theirs while they were here.
Everyone was good to us. A few times, when I had to call the paramedics, they would come and do what they could just short of taking Mary to the hospital. They knew I wouldn’t be able to be with her there and didn’t want that to happen.
SB: I am glad you were able to be with Mary to the end. That must have been comforting for you.
GD: Yes. I am grateful. I miss her though.
SB: I am sure you do. Well, Gordon, you certainly have a servant’s heart. Thank you for sharing your gifts so generously for so many years. You are a gift to St. John XXIII Parish.
GD: Yes. And then we got married in June 1956, when I got out of the service. Shortly before that, when I got out of the service, I came to Chicago and got a job at Bell & Howell. I rented a small apartment on Maple and Dempster. We lived there when we were first married.
SB: What did you do for work?
GD: I spent 41 years at Bell & Howell and retired from there.
SB: What did you do there?
GD: Well, I did a little bit of everything for a few years. Then I was made a supervisor, and shortly after that, I was made a foreman. I was a foreman of two camera lines until they were shipped off to Japan. After 25 years at Bell & Howell, I was terminated. You don’t get laid off when you are on executive payroll and I was an executive. But I was off for only 90 days. I was looking for other jobs but I couldn’t find anything that was comparable to what I had. One superintendent I had been working for called Mary while I was out looking for jobs. He told her he wanted me to come in – that he had a job for me.
SB: So, you were gone for 90 days and then went back and finished your 41 years.
GD: (laughing) Yeah. He said if you come back, we will try to give you something comparable to what you had before. So, after that, I worked on a number of different jobs at Bell & Howell until I retired in 1996 at age 61.
SB. Did you and Mary have a family? I have known you for a long time but I met you after any children would have been raised and gone.
GD. Yes. We have four children, 2 boys and 2 girls.
SB: Where did they go to school?
GD: They started at St. Mary and then, when we moved to St. Nicholas parish, they changed to St. Nick’s. Mike and Charlene finished their seventh and eighth grade at Chute. But the other two kids started at St. Mary, then went to St. Nick’s, and graduated when it had become Pope John XXIII. All of the kids went to Evanston High School.
SB: So where did they receive the sacraments?
GD: I think they had most of them at St. Nick’s.
SB: So, you have deep roots in both legacy parishes, because you were members of each parish for a long time. Tell me about your journey.
GD: We started at St. Mary and came to St. Nick’s when we moved to south Evanston. After the renovation at St. Nick’s in 2000 we went back to St. Mary.
SB: What made you feel that St. Mary was a better home for you?
GD: After the renovation, Mary was not comfortable at St. Nick’s with the altar in the round. So, I said, “If that’s the case, we started at St. Mary and we can go back there.” We both liked it. We spent a lot of years at St. Nick’s. We were happy in both parishes.
SB: I got to know you through your St. Vincent de Paul work when I was on the staff at St. Nicholas. Tell me about your volunteer work? Did you do anything outside of St. Vincent de Paul?
GD: No. And how I got into St. Vincent de Paul was because my aunt lived in St. Mary parish. I happened to be at her house and a friend of hers who was in St. Vincent de Paul at St. Mary’s came by. He asked me if I would go to the St. Vincent de Paul meeting because he was going to be out of town. He wanted me to read the minutes because he was the secretary. He asked if I would do that and I said, “Sure, that would be fine.” He went out to his car and brought in his little satchel. So, I brought the satchel to the meeting and read the minutes. But he never came back for the satchel. So, I just took over the secretary job for a while. I don’t remember who was president, but I remember Fr. Cunningham was the pastor at the time. So, anyhow, that’s how I got into St. Vincent de Paul. I actually knew nothing about it until I went to the meetings and found out about it.
SB: Isn’t it funny that something that became such a big part of your life happened totally by chance?
GD: Yes, that is what it was.
SB: Some would say that is the Holy Spirit at work.
GD: Yes. And the other members were all much older. They were guys who would have been as old as I am now—I will turn 90 this year. They couldn’t remember when the meetings were and kept forgetting to attend them. So, we started having the meetings at the home of one of the men. I would pick up the other two and bring them to the meeting. Then I knew we would all be there (chuckles).
SB: Right. And you were young at this point, still in your twenties, right?
GD: Yes, definitely.
After I was St. Mary’s for a while, we ended up moving to St. Nick’s. There were some older gentlemen in the conference there but they had some disagreements among themselves. So, the conference was just dropped. George Hyland asked me if I would help him get the conference restarted. He said he would be the secretary/treasurer if I would be president. So that is how we started it.
SB: So, you have been doing St. Vincent de Paul work for over 50 years?
GD: I would say it is closer to 60 years. After I got into the conference and went to a few meetings, I found out I was the youngest guy in St. Vincent de Paul at the time. I learned it when John Luft and I were late to a district meeting (probably one of the few times I was ever late to a meeting) and there were about 30 people there. They all got up, clapped, and told me I was elected president of District 3. I was president twice for three-year terms, and then I finished a term for someone else who had to step down when I was vice-president. When I was president of District 3, it was comprised of 13 parish conferences. I had contact with all of the conferences. All of those members were so much older than I was. That’s when I really found out I probably was one of the youngest ones in St. Vincent de Paul.
SB: Are you still active in St. Vincent de Paul?
GD: No. I am retired now (laughing).
SB: What are some of the highlights of your time in St. Vincent de Paul? What did you find inspiring? What kept you doing it for so long?
GD: Well, it was some of the members I worked with, such as George Hyland, Richard Girard, and Mike McGinty. I can’t remember all of them. Mike joined a little later because his father Art was in St. Vincent de Paul at St. Jerome’s—I knew him from district meetings. How I met Art is a funny story. He always wore a hat to District meetings. One windy night after a meeting, his hat blew off and I was able to chase after it and catch it. When Art moved into the St. Nick’s parish later one, he joined our chapter. It was nice to have him working with us. Mike was my secretary/treasurer for the two terms that I served as District president. He was more help to me than anybody because he was a writer. He worked for newspapers and was very good at that sort of stuff. I always told him that it would have been very difficult as District president were it not for him. He knew how to organize it all.
SB: What are some highlights of your work as president?
GD: As a District president we went to a meeting every three months down at the central council, which was held downtown at Catholic Charities. They let us use their space. Those meetings were always started with a Mass. It was a nice get together.
SB: What about your time doing the work of St. Vincent de Paul in the parish? I recall from my time working with you when I was on the staff at St. Nicholas that you tried to meet with people who needed help. You did not simply give them money. You tried to help them improve their situation.
GD: That was the big part of St. Vincent de Paul and what I liked more than anything. Two of us always went together on a visit. We sat down with and talked to people, finding out what their problem was. Mike and I always pretty much agreed that when we went in to talk to people, we let them explain to us what the problem was and what they needed. We weren’t trying to be people who were there to tell them what they should do. We found that if we let people tell us what their problem was and how it was disturbing their life, in most cases they figured out their own solution. We gave them guidance sometimes, or helped them look for a job. But I think most of them solved their own problem. Sometimes, there had been mismanagement, but more than anything it was just plain bad luck.
SB: I suspect that work made you very grateful for the good fortune in your own life.
GD: Yes, indeed.
SB: Would you say the St. Nick’s and St. Mary’s conferences worked together? Did you each tend to know what the other was doing?
GD: Somewhat, but we were definitely independent from one another. We had the same goal of helping those in need, but we had different processes. After the two parishes were unified, we became a single conference.
SB: Were you still volunteering at that time.
GD: I was still attending meetings, but I was phasing out. Honestly, after unification, the different processes of the two legacy conferences made the merger of the two conferences challenging. I am guessing many parish ministries have experienced similar challenges. It has been challenging to bring the two legacy conferences together and have a single approach. Now that I have retired from the ministry, my job is to pray for future success.
SB: I remember putting you in touch with families when I was on the staff. You were always available to take our call and then connect with families in need.
GD: Anytime we could help someone it was very rewarding. And we would visit anyone within our conference area. People did not have to be St. Nick’s parishioners. In fact, they didn’t have to be Catholic. I remember going with Mike McGinty to a Jewish lady in Rogers Park. She told us she was surprised that St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic organization, would help Jewish people. I told her we help anyone who needs help if we can. We paid her rent for two months after her husband died. We never heard from her again other than a phone call thanking us for coming to help a Jewish lady.
SB: So, she just needed that little bit of help for two months, while she got back on her feet.
GD: Yes.
SB: So, you might have kept someone from being homeless. It certainly seems that you were answering a call through your St. Vincent de Paul work.
GD: Yes.
Well, it was interesting. Many of the people working in St. Vincent de Paul had been through the depression. Three or four conferences out of the 13 in the district were pretty well to do parishes. They had good St. Vincent de Paul groups. But they thought they were supposed to save the money people gave them. They didn’t understand they were not supposed to hold onto the money. If an opportunity showed up, they were supposed to use the money to help people. By the time finished my first term as district president, I had them all switched around. I got them to donate their extra money to the district if they either didn’t have the staff to make visits, or if there were no visits to be made—in some conferences there weren’t that many poor people. There is always someone coming to the district from one of the poorer parishes that doesn’t have the money to help everyone coming to them. We at the district had the money to help them.
SB: That is a beautiful thing. You were able to make a difference not only in your own parish, but throughout the district—in 13 parishes. By leading the district, you helped all the conferences understand how St. Vincent de Paul should work. You had a great impact on a larger area. That had to feel good.
GD: Well, yes, it did.
People have been generous. The leaders of the conferences at St. Joseph and St. Francis Xavier in Wilmette told me they would help anytime we needed more funds. And there were several widows at St. Nick’s who told me to stop by anytime we needed money. They would write a check. I got a lot of money that way.
And Fr. Oldershaw took me under his wing when he was pastor. He told me to get in front of people in the parish every once in a while. He said we needed to let them know how we use money donated to St. Vincent de Paul. He helped me prepare for those talks. He would have me practice in the church with him. He was so nice to take the time and work with me. When I gave those talks, people would come up to me and hand me money on the way out of church. I would collect $400-$500, just from the talk. There are a lot of generous people at St. Nick’s. I tried to make them understand that if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be doing what we are doing. They are the ones doing the work.
SB: (laughing) Well, they were providing the funds for you to do the work.
GD: They were. That’s right. And we figured out how to use the money to help people. People gave us the money because we knew the best way to use it. I liked the work. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have stuck with it for so many years.
SB: One thing we haven’t talked about is Mary. Tell me about her. Did she work outside the home while your children were growing up?
GD: Yes. She worked with the lunch program at Oakton for one year while Jo Ellyn, our youngest, was in kindergarten there. Then after that, when Jo Ellyn was at Pope John XXIII, Mary was offered the job of librarian. She retired from Pope John XXIII after 20 years. It’s a good thing you brought up Mary, because I wanted to say something about her and St. Vincent de Paul. As I mentioned earlier, there were 13 conferences in the district. As district president, I was supposed to go to a meeting at each conference every year. Mary, and often two or three of the kids, would go with me. Sometimes we got a babysitter for the kids if the meeting was in the evening. I always told the other St. Vincent de Paul members that a lot of women would have divorced me after two terms as District president, with all the time I spent with that. As John Luft said, our wives are a part of St. Vincent de Paul. That is what I always told them at the district meetings.
Mary died in November, 2020.
SB: Oh my, during the pandemic. Were you able to be with her?
GD: Yes, she passed right here at home. I had wonderful caregivers who took care of her. They slept in the spare bedroom and became comfortable here. They even prepared their food in the kitchen. I told them our house was theirs while they were here.
Everyone was good to us. A few times, when I had to call the paramedics, they would come and do what they could just short of taking Mary to the hospital. They knew I wouldn’t be able to be with her there and didn’t want that to happen.
SB: I am glad you were able to be with Mary to the end. That must have been comforting for you.
GD: Yes. I am grateful. I miss her though.
SB: I am sure you do. Well, Gordon, you certainly have a servant’s heart. Thank you for sharing your gifts so generously for so many years. You are a gift to St. John XXIII Parish.
Amy & Angie Judge (March 16, 2025)
St. John XXIII parishioners have been praying for Amy Judge for several months. Recently Amy and her mother Angie met with Sara Burson to share their story.
Amy Judge and her mother Angie. Photo by Sara Burson, March 2025. (Click to enlarge)
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Angie: Amy is not able to communicate very well verbally, so I will speak on her behalf for the most part. She is 53 years old and suffers from Huntington’s Disease, which is hereditary. She lost her dad to the disease when she was 19. We are thankful for all the help we receive. A woman comes from an agency six mornings a week to help me get Amy’s day started. Coincidentally, the supervisor at that agency is a St. John XXIII parishioner and told me she hears Amy’s name in the intercessory prayers at Mass every Sunday. We like this St. Nicholas/St. John XXII connection with our caregivers.
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SB: Amy, did you grow up in Evanston?
Angie: Amy was born and raised in Evanston. She attended Oakton, Chute, and Evanston Township High School.
SB: Did you grow up in the St. Nicholas parish? Was your religious education at St. Nicholas?
Angie: Yes. She was baptized at St. Athanasius because we lived in north Evanston at the time. We joined St. Nicholas when we moved to this part of Evanston. Amy made her First Communion and was Confirmed at St. Nicholas.
SB: What did you do after high school?
Angie: She attended DePaul University until they ran out of art classes for her. She then put together a fantastic portfolio and was accepted at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she received a BFA.
SB: What type of art was your focus in school?
Angie: Amy loved all of it, but what was your focus, Amy?
Amy: Oil painting and I tried photography.
Angie: Yes, that was your second love.
SB: What did you do after graduating from the Art Institute?
Angie: She had some nice little jobs, but nothing that really excited her. So, she applied and was accepted into Roosevelt University, where she received an MFA in Arts Administration.
SB: What did you do after graduate school?
Angie: As a volunteer, she was on the alumni board for the School of the Art Institute. In the 1990s she worked on the annual fundraiser, Bare Walls, to raise money for scholarships. People bid on art created by current students. Amy enjoyed using her knowledge in event planning to help raise money for the school.
In her career, she worked for the Lyric Opera and the Newberry Library. Those jobs ended due to the great recession in 2008. Amy was able to work in some temporary jobs, but nothing much. Soon, she became too sick to work.
SB: Well, that was cut short. But it sounds like you had great gifts that you pursued and were able to use. What did you do at the Lyric?
Angie: She was in special events and donor services.
Amy: Party planning. The Graham Room (William B and Catherine Graham Dining Room).
Angie: Yes, that was the private dining room for major donors. Amy worked with the caterers to make sure everything was ready for guests. She also was able to sit in on master classes and meet opera stars.
SB: Do you have a most memorable moment or encounter from your time at the Lyric?
Amy: I liked working in the Graham Dining room.
Angie: Yes, that was a great staff. You really worked well together.
Amy: The Welsh singer. Bryn Terfel.
Angie: Oh yes. He is a bass-baritone.
Amy: I met Bryn at Ravinia.
Angie: Amy is a big Cubs fan.
Amy: Yeah.
Angie: She went to spring training, this time of year, while on crutches. That’s the kind of fan she was. She broke her ankle ice skating.
Amy: I wanted to go. It was fun.
SB: How old were you?
Angie: It was 2009.
Amy: I was thirty-something.
Angie: Amy traveled a lot. To many states, Canada, South and Central America, and Europe. In fact, all over the entire western hemisphere!
SB: Was that for work?
Angie: No. For fun! Amy always had her traveling shoes ready.
SB: Did you fly, drive, or take the train when traveling in the U.S.?
Amy: I flew to New York. We drove to Florida.
SB: As a Cubs fan, do you watch them on television?
Angie: We can’t usually watch, but we listen on the radio. And one of our caregivers records games for Amy to watch when she comes.
SB: During the time you were growing up at St. Nicholas and you were well enough to go to Mass, what did you like most?
Angie: I think I can speak for Amy when I say she went to church and enjoyed listening to Fr. Oldershaw. She liked the crowded church. If I come home from Mass now and tell her that Fr. Oldershaw was the presider, she smiles. Now she has church at home. A friend brings Communion every Sunday. Another friend drives me to Mass on Saturday evening. About seven people come to visit her regularly. One friend provided help with legal matters. Amy calls them her “St. Nick’s posse.”
SB: What type of work did you do outside the home, Angie?
Angie: I worked at St. Francis Hospital for 28 years. I did paperwork for the chairman of anesthesia. I also worked at the desk when the nurses were in patient rooms. I retired in 2008. Then I volunteered in the St. Nicholas Parish office from March 2009 – August 2010. Sr. Christina recruited me at a Friday Stations of the Cross. She was the presider. I was on my knees genuflecting and getting ready to get up when she came up to me and said, “What are you doing these days, now that you are retired?” When I responded, “Oh, nothing,” she told me about volunteering in the parish office. I loved that job. It was a good gig. I left in 2010 to go back to paid work at the nursing home The Grove. I worked there until January 2021, when I needed to be home to care for Amy.
I also volunteered through the years at the Rummage Sale and the Holiday Festival. Sr. Christina also recruited me to help a parishioner who used to go every week to Lower Wacker Drive to feed the homeless. I did that for about 5-6 years, from the late 1990s until the mid 2000s. We made about a half a dozen stops to feed people. We gave out CTA fare cards, clean clothes, and blankets as well. Calling them by name, smiling at them—human dignity.
SB: Now that the parish is going to know a little bit more about you, is there anything you would like from the parish? People are praying for you every week. Is there a particular way you would like people to think of you in their prayers? Is there anything you would like to share?
Angie: In spite of what is going on in Amy’s body, that disease did not take away her intellect. Amy knows exactly what is going on. Despite all of this, she does not complain. Her demeanor is angelic.
SB: So, you carry this cross and you bear it with incredible grace. You are an example to all of us.
Amy: I think so.
SB: Is there anything more you want to share with me?
Angie: The parish has been so kind and good to us.
Angie: Amy was born and raised in Evanston. She attended Oakton, Chute, and Evanston Township High School.
SB: Did you grow up in the St. Nicholas parish? Was your religious education at St. Nicholas?
Angie: Yes. She was baptized at St. Athanasius because we lived in north Evanston at the time. We joined St. Nicholas when we moved to this part of Evanston. Amy made her First Communion and was Confirmed at St. Nicholas.
SB: What did you do after high school?
Angie: She attended DePaul University until they ran out of art classes for her. She then put together a fantastic portfolio and was accepted at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she received a BFA.
SB: What type of art was your focus in school?
Angie: Amy loved all of it, but what was your focus, Amy?
Amy: Oil painting and I tried photography.
Angie: Yes, that was your second love.
SB: What did you do after graduating from the Art Institute?
Angie: She had some nice little jobs, but nothing that really excited her. So, she applied and was accepted into Roosevelt University, where she received an MFA in Arts Administration.
SB: What did you do after graduate school?
Angie: As a volunteer, she was on the alumni board for the School of the Art Institute. In the 1990s she worked on the annual fundraiser, Bare Walls, to raise money for scholarships. People bid on art created by current students. Amy enjoyed using her knowledge in event planning to help raise money for the school.
In her career, she worked for the Lyric Opera and the Newberry Library. Those jobs ended due to the great recession in 2008. Amy was able to work in some temporary jobs, but nothing much. Soon, she became too sick to work.
SB: Well, that was cut short. But it sounds like you had great gifts that you pursued and were able to use. What did you do at the Lyric?
Angie: She was in special events and donor services.
Amy: Party planning. The Graham Room (William B and Catherine Graham Dining Room).
Angie: Yes, that was the private dining room for major donors. Amy worked with the caterers to make sure everything was ready for guests. She also was able to sit in on master classes and meet opera stars.
SB: Do you have a most memorable moment or encounter from your time at the Lyric?
Amy: I liked working in the Graham Dining room.
Angie: Yes, that was a great staff. You really worked well together.
Amy: The Welsh singer. Bryn Terfel.
Angie: Oh yes. He is a bass-baritone.
Amy: I met Bryn at Ravinia.
Angie: Amy is a big Cubs fan.
Amy: Yeah.
Angie: She went to spring training, this time of year, while on crutches. That’s the kind of fan she was. She broke her ankle ice skating.
Amy: I wanted to go. It was fun.
SB: How old were you?
Angie: It was 2009.
Amy: I was thirty-something.
Angie: Amy traveled a lot. To many states, Canada, South and Central America, and Europe. In fact, all over the entire western hemisphere!
SB: Was that for work?
Angie: No. For fun! Amy always had her traveling shoes ready.
SB: Did you fly, drive, or take the train when traveling in the U.S.?
Amy: I flew to New York. We drove to Florida.
SB: As a Cubs fan, do you watch them on television?
Angie: We can’t usually watch, but we listen on the radio. And one of our caregivers records games for Amy to watch when she comes.
SB: During the time you were growing up at St. Nicholas and you were well enough to go to Mass, what did you like most?
Angie: I think I can speak for Amy when I say she went to church and enjoyed listening to Fr. Oldershaw. She liked the crowded church. If I come home from Mass now and tell her that Fr. Oldershaw was the presider, she smiles. Now she has church at home. A friend brings Communion every Sunday. Another friend drives me to Mass on Saturday evening. About seven people come to visit her regularly. One friend provided help with legal matters. Amy calls them her “St. Nick’s posse.”
SB: What type of work did you do outside the home, Angie?
Angie: I worked at St. Francis Hospital for 28 years. I did paperwork for the chairman of anesthesia. I also worked at the desk when the nurses were in patient rooms. I retired in 2008. Then I volunteered in the St. Nicholas Parish office from March 2009 – August 2010. Sr. Christina recruited me at a Friday Stations of the Cross. She was the presider. I was on my knees genuflecting and getting ready to get up when she came up to me and said, “What are you doing these days, now that you are retired?” When I responded, “Oh, nothing,” she told me about volunteering in the parish office. I loved that job. It was a good gig. I left in 2010 to go back to paid work at the nursing home The Grove. I worked there until January 2021, when I needed to be home to care for Amy.
I also volunteered through the years at the Rummage Sale and the Holiday Festival. Sr. Christina also recruited me to help a parishioner who used to go every week to Lower Wacker Drive to feed the homeless. I did that for about 5-6 years, from the late 1990s until the mid 2000s. We made about a half a dozen stops to feed people. We gave out CTA fare cards, clean clothes, and blankets as well. Calling them by name, smiling at them—human dignity.
SB: Now that the parish is going to know a little bit more about you, is there anything you would like from the parish? People are praying for you every week. Is there a particular way you would like people to think of you in their prayers? Is there anything you would like to share?
Angie: In spite of what is going on in Amy’s body, that disease did not take away her intellect. Amy knows exactly what is going on. Despite all of this, she does not complain. Her demeanor is angelic.
SB: So, you carry this cross and you bear it with incredible grace. You are an example to all of us.
Amy: I think so.
SB: Is there anything more you want to share with me?
Angie: The parish has been so kind and good to us.
Marge Mierkiewicz (February 23, 2025)
Marge at her 100th birthday party on January 18, 2025. (Click to enlarge)
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Marge celebrated her 100th birthday on January 18, 2025!
Born to Minnie and Felix Hoffman in Morton Grove, she is the youngest of four children and the only girl. After graduating from Maine Township High School, she worked for a short time at Bell & Gossett before moving to First National Bank in Evanston, where she worked in the Trust Department until her retirement in 1987. She and her husband Sigmund (Ziggy) met at a town picnic when she was 14. In 1947 at age 22, she married Ziggy upon his return from WWII. They enjoyed 56 years together before his death in 2004. Marge was raised Lutheran and joined the legacy St. Nicholas Parish when she converted to Catholicism. She was active in ministry for many years as a money counter and prayer shawl knitter. She also was a member of the St. Nick’s women’s bowling league! Marge and Ziggy raised their daughter Debbie (Gary Anton) in the parish, and Marge’s three granddaughters sat with her most Sundays while growing up. She also has a great-grandson, Iverson, and a great-granddaughter, Quinn. They are delights in her life! In 2009, Marge moved to Three Crowns Park and became actively involved there while making many friends. She took art classes, was part of the welcoming committee, and helped start a scholarship fund for young employees. Debbie attributes her mother’s longevity to the fact that Marge has always been a very sociable person, is always happy, doesn’t anger quickly, and has the biggest heart. Happy 100th birthday, Marge! Profile prepared by Marge's daughter, Debbie Anton. |
Fr. James "Jim" Halstead, OSA (February 9, 2025)
(Click HERE to read Fr. Bob Oldershaw's homily from the Mass on February 9, 2025, honoring Fr. Jim.)
Recently, Fr. Jim (JH) sat with parishioner Sara Burson (SB), shared memories of his childhood, his life as an Augustinian, and his ministry at St. John XXIII Parish and the legacy St. Nicholas Parish.
SB: Is there anything you would like to share about your childhood?
JH: I spent my early childhood in Flint, Michigan, an industrial town. Later, we moved to Grand Blanc which, at that time, was a small town outside Flint, 90 minutes north of Detroit. I had a lot of fun in a sheltered childhood with my two sisters, protected by my loving parents. We spent summers in the northern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan, where I discovered the majesty, grandeur, and mystery of nature. The sky was pitch black at night, with all the stars visible. Being a bit of a nerd, I wondered, “What is light and what is darkness?” My imagination was sparked by Lake George as well as the sky. I remember watching the fish and wondering, “What is the consciousness of a fish?” Those summers spent out of the city and in nature were magnificent.
SB: What drew you to the priesthood? And why the Augustinians?
Most Catholic boys growing up in the 1950s and 60s considered the priesthood. I lost interest in middle and high school. I struggled to reconcile what I was learning in science and religion classes and what I was questioning privately. But I was always intrigued by ritual. The Tridentine Latin Mass was mystifying—in a good way. During my 1966 high school retreat, I went to Confession. My penance was to consider becoming an Augustinian. And so I did. When the Augustinians invited me to enter their novitiate after high school, I said OK. Why? Not so much because I was drawn to it, but it meant I didn’t have to figure out what other path to take! I didn’t particularly like school, so college held little appeal. Nor did I want to go to Vietnam. A year on the farm in the Augustinian novitiate was a way to “kick the can down the road.” And since the vocation director did the application paperwork, going to the novitiate was the easiest thing to do.
SB. So you could say you sort of backed into the priesthood?
JH: Yes (laughter)
SB: Some of your education was in Belgium. Why? Do all Augustinians study there?
JH: I did undergraduate work and first graduate studies in Chicago at the Catholic Theological Union (CTU). (Strange--decades later I chaired the Board of Trustees of CTU.) Unbeknownst to me, my teachers at CTU told my religious superior to have me pursue a doctorate. They hoped I would return to teach at CTU.
I was ordained in 1976. I thoroughly enjoyed parish life for the next four years at two St. Clare of Montefalco parishes, one in Chicago, the other in Detroit. In year three I was told to find a doctoral school and apply. I reluctantly obeyed.
From 1980-1986, I studied religion and theology at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. I earned three degrees: an STL (License in Sacred Theology), PhD in Religious Studies, and an STD (Doctor of Sacred Theology). I chose Leuven for three reasons: 1) The theologians I studied and most admired at CTU were all trained in Europe; 2) Wanderlust lingered from my boyhood fascination with Europe and Flemish architecture; and 3) I wanted to experience the world and education outside of the United States. In Leuven, I finally resolved the conflict between science and religion that had bothered me earlier. Critical thought and theology, science and religion, medicine and religion, modern life and traditional religion—they can all work together.
To earn money and pay for my education while in Europe, I served as a priest for hire, doing sacramental work at American Air Force and Army bases in southwest Germany. I also served as interim pastor at an international parish in The Hague, The Parish of Our Saviour (British spelling). Combining academia during the week and pastoral life on the weekend led me to a preaching style characterized by respect for Scripture and tradition, careful thought, and a rhetoric that invited Catholics to discuss issues. Reflection on my own maturation and four years in parish work taught me that trying to dictate a specific way of thinking, praying, and acting was hopeless.
An example: while at The Hague, Americans installed nuclear-tipped cruise missiles in Europe. We all assumed targets included population centers as well as military installations. The American bishops had written a pastoral letter on nuclear weapons. The Dutch were in the streets, demonstrating. Parishioners in the international parish were military leaders, diplomats, civilian contractors, jurists of the World Court, spies, some business persons, and international students. I preached about cruise missiles with nuclear warheads, the bishops’ letter, and our various responses. I didn’t argue in favor or against installation or targeting. I wanted conversation. I wanted all of us to acknowledge and address the multiple moral dilemmas the missiles presented in the light of the Gospels. Interestingly, Americans in the parish tended to have their hackles up and shied away from the discussions. Europeans and Asians wanted to talk.
SB: What came next?
JH: I returned to the States in January 1987, and taught part-time at the Institute for Pastoral Studies at Loyola University while looking for a full-time job. In 1988, DePaul University posted a position in Ritual Studies. Although that was not really my area, DePaul hired me. I began in the fall of 1988 and remained on the faculty until my retirement in June 2019. In retirement, I returned to part-time teaching until illness forced my permanent retirement in December 2023.
SB: What brought you to St. Nicholas/St John XXIII?
JH: In 1972, while at CTU, I first met Bob Oldershaw, then associate pastor at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish. I witnessed him leading a parish in singing. I had never seen anything like this before. This was Vatican II! Fr. Bob was putting into action what I was learning at CTU. In 1993, Bob was looking for weekend presiders. The music director Diana Kodner recommended me. (We had worked together at Loyola.) I started at St. Nick’s in August 1993.
SB: When did you move into the rectory at St. Nicholas and how long did you live there?
JH: I finished my term as Prior at the St. John Stone Friary in Hyde Park in the summer of 1995 and needed to move out so the new Prior could take over. Coincidentally, Fr. Jim Kastigar had just left St. Nicholas for another assignment. Fr. Bob was alone in the rectory and invited me to join him. I moved in that fall and stayed until January 1, 2000, when I took the opportunity to have financial responsibility and independence.
Entering religious life at age 18, I missed a few things growing up. In mid-life, I felt a need to be on my own financially--managing a mortgage, paying my own bills, and dealing with taxes. To be honest, the Provincial thought I was a little crazy, but he rolled his eyes and approved my proposal. I bought a two-flat with a fellow Augustinian priest, which we fixed up and where I lived for 12 years. I thrived there and stayed until the priest in the other apartment left the priesthood. I rented out his apartment for a time, but I learned that I did not like being a landlord! So I sold the building and moved to my current hermitage. I love eremitic life--and being a renter.
SB: What involvement did you have in our parish? What are some highlights from your time with us?
JH: I celebrated sacraments. I presided at weddings and funerals, heard confessions, anointed the sick, and regularly celebrated Sunday Mass. Weekday life in the classroom and weekend parish work enriched each other. During the week, I read and taught about religion, religious traditions, and religious communities. On the weekend, I got to experience it.
In my early times at St. Nick's and after the church was renovated, I recall spending time in the choir loft observing Fr. Bob, watching how he did liturgy. Bob can improvise, dance, clap, recite poetry, and walk into a baptismal font. I can’t. I knew I had to find my own way, but I learned by observing him.
I loved working with wonderful, talented, and committed liturgical musicians.
Preaching at Sunday Mass was both terrifying and enriching. I remember thinking, “I have to preach to these people, people who are deeply invested in religious life and Catholic liturgy.”
I came to appreciate deeply the role of the assembly. Theoretically, when the People of God gather for Eucharist, especially at the altar during the Eucharistic prayer, we embody, incarnate, the Risen Christ. The community at St. Nicholas/St. Mary enfleshed that theory and helped me develop my sense of what the priesthood should be and is. I do not do “priest-craft.” I have a role, presbyter/presider, and lead within a Eucharistic Assembly. I/the priest don’t know everything, nor do I/we need to. Nor do I/we need to do everything. I/we need to trust people and believe they will come through.
Recently, Fr. Jim (JH) sat with parishioner Sara Burson (SB), shared memories of his childhood, his life as an Augustinian, and his ministry at St. John XXIII Parish and the legacy St. Nicholas Parish.
SB: Is there anything you would like to share about your childhood?
JH: I spent my early childhood in Flint, Michigan, an industrial town. Later, we moved to Grand Blanc which, at that time, was a small town outside Flint, 90 minutes north of Detroit. I had a lot of fun in a sheltered childhood with my two sisters, protected by my loving parents. We spent summers in the northern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan, where I discovered the majesty, grandeur, and mystery of nature. The sky was pitch black at night, with all the stars visible. Being a bit of a nerd, I wondered, “What is light and what is darkness?” My imagination was sparked by Lake George as well as the sky. I remember watching the fish and wondering, “What is the consciousness of a fish?” Those summers spent out of the city and in nature were magnificent.
SB: What drew you to the priesthood? And why the Augustinians?
Most Catholic boys growing up in the 1950s and 60s considered the priesthood. I lost interest in middle and high school. I struggled to reconcile what I was learning in science and religion classes and what I was questioning privately. But I was always intrigued by ritual. The Tridentine Latin Mass was mystifying—in a good way. During my 1966 high school retreat, I went to Confession. My penance was to consider becoming an Augustinian. And so I did. When the Augustinians invited me to enter their novitiate after high school, I said OK. Why? Not so much because I was drawn to it, but it meant I didn’t have to figure out what other path to take! I didn’t particularly like school, so college held little appeal. Nor did I want to go to Vietnam. A year on the farm in the Augustinian novitiate was a way to “kick the can down the road.” And since the vocation director did the application paperwork, going to the novitiate was the easiest thing to do.
SB. So you could say you sort of backed into the priesthood?
JH: Yes (laughter)
SB: Some of your education was in Belgium. Why? Do all Augustinians study there?
JH: I did undergraduate work and first graduate studies in Chicago at the Catholic Theological Union (CTU). (Strange--decades later I chaired the Board of Trustees of CTU.) Unbeknownst to me, my teachers at CTU told my religious superior to have me pursue a doctorate. They hoped I would return to teach at CTU.
I was ordained in 1976. I thoroughly enjoyed parish life for the next four years at two St. Clare of Montefalco parishes, one in Chicago, the other in Detroit. In year three I was told to find a doctoral school and apply. I reluctantly obeyed.
From 1980-1986, I studied religion and theology at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. I earned three degrees: an STL (License in Sacred Theology), PhD in Religious Studies, and an STD (Doctor of Sacred Theology). I chose Leuven for three reasons: 1) The theologians I studied and most admired at CTU were all trained in Europe; 2) Wanderlust lingered from my boyhood fascination with Europe and Flemish architecture; and 3) I wanted to experience the world and education outside of the United States. In Leuven, I finally resolved the conflict between science and religion that had bothered me earlier. Critical thought and theology, science and religion, medicine and religion, modern life and traditional religion—they can all work together.
To earn money and pay for my education while in Europe, I served as a priest for hire, doing sacramental work at American Air Force and Army bases in southwest Germany. I also served as interim pastor at an international parish in The Hague, The Parish of Our Saviour (British spelling). Combining academia during the week and pastoral life on the weekend led me to a preaching style characterized by respect for Scripture and tradition, careful thought, and a rhetoric that invited Catholics to discuss issues. Reflection on my own maturation and four years in parish work taught me that trying to dictate a specific way of thinking, praying, and acting was hopeless.
An example: while at The Hague, Americans installed nuclear-tipped cruise missiles in Europe. We all assumed targets included population centers as well as military installations. The American bishops had written a pastoral letter on nuclear weapons. The Dutch were in the streets, demonstrating. Parishioners in the international parish were military leaders, diplomats, civilian contractors, jurists of the World Court, spies, some business persons, and international students. I preached about cruise missiles with nuclear warheads, the bishops’ letter, and our various responses. I didn’t argue in favor or against installation or targeting. I wanted conversation. I wanted all of us to acknowledge and address the multiple moral dilemmas the missiles presented in the light of the Gospels. Interestingly, Americans in the parish tended to have their hackles up and shied away from the discussions. Europeans and Asians wanted to talk.
SB: What came next?
JH: I returned to the States in January 1987, and taught part-time at the Institute for Pastoral Studies at Loyola University while looking for a full-time job. In 1988, DePaul University posted a position in Ritual Studies. Although that was not really my area, DePaul hired me. I began in the fall of 1988 and remained on the faculty until my retirement in June 2019. In retirement, I returned to part-time teaching until illness forced my permanent retirement in December 2023.
SB: What brought you to St. Nicholas/St John XXIII?
JH: In 1972, while at CTU, I first met Bob Oldershaw, then associate pastor at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish. I witnessed him leading a parish in singing. I had never seen anything like this before. This was Vatican II! Fr. Bob was putting into action what I was learning at CTU. In 1993, Bob was looking for weekend presiders. The music director Diana Kodner recommended me. (We had worked together at Loyola.) I started at St. Nick’s in August 1993.
SB: When did you move into the rectory at St. Nicholas and how long did you live there?
JH: I finished my term as Prior at the St. John Stone Friary in Hyde Park in the summer of 1995 and needed to move out so the new Prior could take over. Coincidentally, Fr. Jim Kastigar had just left St. Nicholas for another assignment. Fr. Bob was alone in the rectory and invited me to join him. I moved in that fall and stayed until January 1, 2000, when I took the opportunity to have financial responsibility and independence.
Entering religious life at age 18, I missed a few things growing up. In mid-life, I felt a need to be on my own financially--managing a mortgage, paying my own bills, and dealing with taxes. To be honest, the Provincial thought I was a little crazy, but he rolled his eyes and approved my proposal. I bought a two-flat with a fellow Augustinian priest, which we fixed up and where I lived for 12 years. I thrived there and stayed until the priest in the other apartment left the priesthood. I rented out his apartment for a time, but I learned that I did not like being a landlord! So I sold the building and moved to my current hermitage. I love eremitic life--and being a renter.
SB: What involvement did you have in our parish? What are some highlights from your time with us?
JH: I celebrated sacraments. I presided at weddings and funerals, heard confessions, anointed the sick, and regularly celebrated Sunday Mass. Weekday life in the classroom and weekend parish work enriched each other. During the week, I read and taught about religion, religious traditions, and religious communities. On the weekend, I got to experience it.
In my early times at St. Nick's and after the church was renovated, I recall spending time in the choir loft observing Fr. Bob, watching how he did liturgy. Bob can improvise, dance, clap, recite poetry, and walk into a baptismal font. I can’t. I knew I had to find my own way, but I learned by observing him.
I loved working with wonderful, talented, and committed liturgical musicians.
Preaching at Sunday Mass was both terrifying and enriching. I remember thinking, “I have to preach to these people, people who are deeply invested in religious life and Catholic liturgy.”
I came to appreciate deeply the role of the assembly. Theoretically, when the People of God gather for Eucharist, especially at the altar during the Eucharistic prayer, we embody, incarnate, the Risen Christ. The community at St. Nicholas/St. Mary enfleshed that theory and helped me develop my sense of what the priesthood should be and is. I do not do “priest-craft.” I have a role, presbyter/presider, and lead within a Eucharistic Assembly. I/the priest don’t know everything, nor do I/we need to. Nor do I/we need to do everything. I/we need to trust people and believe they will come through.
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I have a favorite photo of me at Mass—May 2019, the day after First Communion. A whole group of us are gathered around the Table/Altar for the Eucharistic Prayer. We are all praying the prayer, and a little boy is directly in front of me as I elevate the Elements for the Great Amen. That little boy stands as an initiated member of the community in the folds of the vestment. He is overshadowed by Jesus Christ. The photo is a visual representation of who we, the Church, have been, are, and will be.
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Fr. Jim's favorite photo of himself at Mass. "The photo is a visual representation of who we, the Church, have been, are, and will be." (Click to enlarge)
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There is also a photo of a baptism at Mass. We had all poured water and said the words of baptism. In the photo, parents, godparents, and family are holding the baby in the foreground. The community is in back of them. I am further back, overseeing the group from behind having poured water, anointed, and blessed. The family and community are in the foreground providing the baby with welcome, love, care, and guidance in Catholic faith. I am in the background providing witness, guidance, and guardrails.
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Another of Fr. Jim's favorite photos. "The family and community are in the foreground providing the baby with welcome, love, care, and guidance in the Catholic faith. I am in the background providing witness, guidance, and guardrails." (Click to enlarge)
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Another story: by Fall 2018, I had been a member of St. Nicholas Parish for 25 years. A man came to Confession. He was weary. (Years with a wife in dialysis wears a guy out.) He said his wife needed a kidney. No family member could donate. As we sat in the Reconciliation Room, I felt something (immediately? -- like the first disciples?). Kidney donation was a no-brainer. A 25-year involvement in this community moved me to share a kidney. In this crazy, polarized, often selfish, sometimes mean-spirited, sinful world, here was I—an old, white man—donating a kidney to a Filipino woman married to a black man who is Buddhist and a regular at St. Nick's. This is St. Nicholas/St. John XXIII Parish!!! (That was 6 years ago. I am just now beginning to understand that time and enjoy the unique bond I share with that family.)
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Last December, Gaudete Sunday, I felt the trust and support of the community when I presided at my last Sunday Mass. That Sunday morning I felt especially weak. I had difficulty moving, shaving, and showering. I was not able to stand at the Table/Altar or hold the Eucharistic Elements. Knowing the St. John XXIII community on St. Nicholas Campus, I trusted they would accept and embrace my presiding while sitting in a chair, and would also accept and trust Chris Murphy holding the bread and wine during the Institution Narrative and the Great Amen. Rubrically, a bit irregular. In the situation and with my limits, proper. This is St. John XXIII Parish.
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Fr. Jim's third favorite photo of himself at St. John XXIII Parish, taken in January 2024. It shows the support and tender care of a young man towards and old man, a "pro-reign of God image." (Click to enlarge)
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SB: What now?
JH: I have one public responsibility remaining. Until June 2026, I am Treasurer of the Augustinian Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel.
Like Martha in the Gospel, I have been very busy since 1976—teaching, serving the Augustinian Midwest Province, and helping at St. Nicks/St. John XXIII. It has all been very satisfying. The challenge for me right now is to be more like Mary. As I read cards, letters and notes from the past—wrapped in the prayer shawl I was given a couple years ago—I am challenged to embrace the appreciation, affection, and love many people have for me. At this stage in my life, I think the Divine One wants me to learn that I am forgiven and loved. ALS gives me time to reflect. My work/ministry was respected and appreciated, and I am valued and loved.
JH: I have one public responsibility remaining. Until June 2026, I am Treasurer of the Augustinian Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel.
Like Martha in the Gospel, I have been very busy since 1976—teaching, serving the Augustinian Midwest Province, and helping at St. Nicks/St. John XXIII. It has all been very satisfying. The challenge for me right now is to be more like Mary. As I read cards, letters and notes from the past—wrapped in the prayer shawl I was given a couple years ago—I am challenged to embrace the appreciation, affection, and love many people have for me. At this stage in my life, I think the Divine One wants me to learn that I am forgiven and loved. ALS gives me time to reflect. My work/ministry was respected and appreciated, and I am valued and loved.
Selection Criteria
A. Their FAITH is an inspiration to others
B. They have a SERVANT’s heart
C. They exemplify our vision at St. John XXIII Parish
“We make the Kingdom of God present in our world by loving God, welcoming all, serving humanity, and caring for creation.”
D. They contribute to the unification efforts for the future for St. John XXIII Parish
E. “Elder Honor” – Milestone birthdays
F. Community outreach and involvement
- They model Christian virtues and values
- They are a witness to others
- People can see Christ live within them
B. They have a SERVANT’s heart
- Quality, not quantity (it’s not the number of activities, but the depth of their service)
- Their service is an act of humility and obedience to doing God’s will
- They are committed to serving the faith community as well as the community at large
- They are caring, kind, and compassionate
- They seek to find solutions and make things better for all
C. They exemplify our vision at St. John XXIII Parish
“We make the Kingdom of God present in our world by loving God, welcoming all, serving humanity, and caring for creation.”
- Loving God - speaks to criterion A
- Welcoming all and serving humanity - speaks to criterion B
- Caring for creation
D. They contribute to the unification efforts for the future for St. John XXIII Parish
- Their attitude and actions model unity of our parish community
- They find productive ways to be bridge builders
E. “Elder Honor” – Milestone birthdays
- Recognizing the legacy of our elders, those who have not only been blessed with longevity, but have exemplified a life of service, holiness, and charity
F. Community outreach and involvement
- Contribution and involvement in the wider Evanston community to build and advocate for youth, immigrants, homeless, and special needs individuals
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