Brother Larry Gauthier, SCJ, died on Saturday, May 8, 2010 after a lengthy illness. Br. Larry was 83 when he died. Professed in 1952, he had been with the SCJs for almost 60 years. From 1986 to 2001 he served with the Priests of the Sacred Heart in Willacy County.

Originally from Montana, Br. Larry was a man who quietly worked in the background of the province.

His first assignment was at Sacred Heart Monastery where he worked at the farm that was once associated with it. He then went to the SCJs’ Kilroe Seminary in Pennsylvania, where he did similar work.

He continued to take care of maintenance, carpentry and farm needs at his community’s novitiate in Ste. Marie, Ill., Divine Heart Seminary in Donaldson, Ind., and later at Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Lenox, Mass.

Eventually the farms that helped to support the seminaries were phased out and Br. Larry moved to support roles at Sacred Heart School of Theology and St. Lawrence parish in San Antonio.

In 2001 Br. Larry retired from ministry in Willacy County and joined the Villa Maria community in Franklin, Wis. During the past year he lived at the Congregational Home in Brookfield, Wis. (suburban Milwaukee), where he died.

Brother Larry loved living in Texas and enjoyed helping many people in Willacy County whether it was fixing someone’s roof or repairing something else for people in need. The SCJs, especially here in Texas, will miss Brother Larry.

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