January 9, 2006VOL. 44, NO. 1Oakland, CA

Obituaries

•Deacon Jack Jordan

•Deacon Leo Smith

•Sister Kathleen Murray, SNDdeN

Diocese mourns deaths of two retired deacons

Two members of the first diaconate class for the Oakland Diocese, Jack Jordan and Leo Smith, died within days of one another last month.

Deacon Jack Jordan
Deacon Jack Jordan, who was remembered as a “pillar” of the local diaconate community, died Dec. 19 at the age of 92.

Jordan, who served at St. Monica Parish in Moraga for more than two decades, was always involved in ministry, said Deacon David Rezendes, the bishop’s representative to the diaconate and director of deacon personnel. “I couldn’t get him to retire,” despite his advanced age, said Rezendes.

Although permanent deacons, like priests, “serve for life,” they usually retire from active ministry at age 75, but Jordan didn’t want to do that. “He wanted to die with his stole on” and he got his wish, Rezendes said.

After the order of deacons was reinstated by the Church as a permanent ministry for single and married men, Jordan was one of 27 men who enrolled in the new permanent diaconate formation program of the Oakland Diocese. He was ordained on Feb. 17, 1978, and with his wife Mary became a model for diaconal ministry.

“I will remember him as an advocate of a strong deacon community,” said Rezendes of Jordan, who was one of the early framers of the diocesan deacon council to deal with the internal guidelines of the deacon community.
Over the years the council has evolved and now is one of the four advisory bodies to the bishop.

Jordan supported activities that would bring the deacon community together both socially and spiritually, and he was a strong advocate for accountability. Rezendes recalled that Jordan often said “we have to be accountable for what we do and to each other.”

Jordan was dedicated to youth, serving as a Boy Scout leader and supporting athletic teams. He also served as a counselor and advisor to the St. Vincent de Paul Society and other charitable organizations.

Survivors include his four children, Christian, Antoinette, Therese and Thomas, 13 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.
Bishop Emeritus John Cummins presided at the funeral Mass, on Dec. 31 at St. Monica Church in Moraga. Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu, a former priest of the Oakland Diocese, gave the final commendation. Burial followed at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Lafayette.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Sisters of Social Service, 4316 Lanai Road, Encino, CA 91436 or to the San Damiano Retreat Center, P.O. Box 767, Danville, CA 94526.

Deacon Leo Smith
Deacon Leo Smith, who helped guide the diaconate community through its early years in the Oakland Diocese, died Dec. 14 in Oakland after a long illness. He was 78.

Born in Oakland, Smith excelled as a student at Webster Elementary, Frick Junior High and Castlemont High schools, where he was valedictorian for his graduating class of 1945.
Following his acceptance at the University of California in Berkeley, he took a job as a weather observer for the Oakland Airport to earn money to pay for his tuition.

He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in three-and-a-half years with a degree in economics. He worked in the personnel department at the Dodge plant in San Leandro and later at Trailmobile, where he handled labor relations for the Fremont, Sacramento and Salt Lake City plants.

He credited a three-day Cursillo weekend in 1964 for changing the direction of his life. He became active in the Cursillo movement on the diocesan, regional and national level, serving for three years on the National Secretariat of the Cursillo.

Smith then embarked on a journey in pastoral ministry and became a lay leader at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Union City. Later he was accepted into the first diaconate program for the Oakland Diocese and was ordained a permanent deacon by Bishop John Cummins in September 1978. He was assigned to Our Lady of the Rosary Parish.

In 1983 Bishop Cummins appointed Smith as vicar to the deacon community, a position he held for seven years. “He was very passionate about diaconate ministry in the diocese,” said Deacon David Rezendes, the current bishop’s representative and director of deacon personnel. “He was considered to be a great leader in the formation of the early deacon council.”

Smith also helped others experience the presence of God through spiritual direction and prayer. He was instrumental in forming an unemployment assistance ministry.

Ill health forced Deacon Smith to retire from active ministry in 1993. But after he moved to Mercy Care and Retirement Center in Oakland he continued to be “an unofficial chaplain,” counselor and spiritual friend, “giving himself to the residents there,” said Deacon Dick Folger, a close friend.

Bishop Allen Vigneron and Bishop Emeritus John Cummins attended the Dec. 20 funeral Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary Church. Father George Crespin, Smith’s former pastor, was the celebrant. Burial followed at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward.

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