Five members of the Los Angeles Catholic community who have served both church and community for many years will be honored at the 2006 Cardinal's Award Dinner, to be held Feb. 4 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

This year's honorees --- profiled on these pages --- are Deacon Hosea Alexander, Mary Pat Cooper, Fran Curry, Clyde Von Der Ahe and William Wardlaw. The 2006 honorees bring to 83 the number of men and women honored with the award since 1990.

Funds raised from the Cardinal's Award Dinner have supported programs, agencies and relief efforts in all pastoral regions of the archdiocese. This year's proceeds will help in the building of a new worship space at Sagrado Corazon Church in Cudahy. For information on the 2006 Cardinal's Award Dinner, call (213) 637-7636.

DEACON HOSEA ALEXANDER
Caring, sharing and listening is a good formula for one who wishes to serve the Lord and his community.

"You have to listen to people," says Deacon Hosea Alexander, speaking of how he addresses so-called "problems." In his own experience, "the problems were being solved by someone else but the rest of the group, or the company, didn't know it. And before you can solve anything, you have to accept where you are at, and stop worrying about how you got here. Think about what needs to be done, and then start listening to people who may already be getting it done."

A bit of unconventionality doesn't hurt, either. As a systems engineer working at Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Hosea decided on his own to take one day a week off to visit local high school and encourage students to stay in school and consider careers as scientists and engineers --- a move greeted initially with skepticism by his superiors, until they realized that other workers were taking Hosea's cue, and began a program to bring students into JPL for a firsthand look at what a career could be like.

"As a professional," he says, "I felt I should encourage others to become scientists, engineers. They need that encouragement."

As one deeply committed since his youth to social justice, he helped launch the grass roots Southern California Organizing Committee (SCOC). Such work --- rooted in the effects of segregation and discrimination he knew growing up --- helped result in the passage of a ban on assault weapons and increases in the state minimum wage.

In the community, Hosea has been a mentor to Notre Dame Summer Service students volunteering at Good Shepherd Center, Rancho San Antonio and the Catholic Worker. In the church, he has worked actively in family and ecumenical outreach efforts. With his wife Genevieve, a University of Chicago psychiatric social worker, he works to implement proposals and strategies of the archdiocesan Synod in the Our Lady of the Angels Region.

Last year, the Arkansas native celebrated a milestone year --- 50 years married, and 30 years since he was the first ("They started with the A's") of 25 of the first permanent deacon class ordained for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles following the sacred order's reinstitution in the past-Vatican II church.

Hardly surprising, given his love for the Word of God, his passion for education (degrees from the University of Notre Dame, Mount St. Mary's College and West Coast University) and his desire to serve his community. Growing up in St. Louis, he recalls fondly getting his first library card --- "the beginning of a whole new adventure, especially when I started to read books on black history."

He also got his first taste of dealing with racial disparity in St. Louis; at age 11 he quit a job selling newspapers when he heard some in the newspaper office laughing over a story of blacks being lynched in Sikeston, Missouri.

"I told them if someone was going to sell their newspaper, it didn't have to be me," he says. "It was a watershed moment in my life, and it gave me real passion for social justice."

In the early '70s he was at Holy Spirit Church when Father (now Msgr.) Peter O'Reilly asked if he'd seen an article in The Tidings on restoring the permanent deacon program. Was he interested? Yes, Hosea said. "I thought so," said the priest. "Here are the papers to fill out and send in."

Since then, Hosea has served at three South Los Angeles parishes (Holy Spirit, St. Agatha and Holy Name of Jesus). He and Genevieve are proud of their daughter and three sons, all in professional positions (educator, doctor, banker and attorney).

Their children have followed what Hosea has always told other young people: "Get an education. It is the way you lay your foundation for doing good work and serving one another."

MARY PAT COOPER
"I'm not a role model," Mary Pat Cooper chuckles. "What I am is a people person."

That may be, but few are as involved in church and community activities as this St. Paul the Apostle (Westwood) parishioner --- a Catholic school parent, a hands-on supporter of many Catholic and community projects (such as the St. Anne's Juniors and Cathedral Development Committee), and most recently as director of development at Maryvale, the Los Angeles Orphanage for girls.

"I'm a figurehead, representing all volunteers, who receive so much more than we give," she says, moidestly. "And I'm representing my family who have always encouraged me."

The youngest of four children born to immigrant parents, Mary Pat was educated at St. Augustine School in Culver City by the Daughters of Mary and Joseph (her own sister, Sister Jean King was her second grade teacher; a brother, Father Tom King, is pastor of St. Anastasia Church in Westchester).

Mary Pat recalls fondly Sister Mary Finbar, "a great motivator who encouraged us all to make a difference." Her own parents, she says, modeled service in her parish, and also encouraged her to be involved. And her husband Gary was "an incredible source" of encouragement.

"When I would be asked to become part of a church-related activity that required a certain amount of time away from home," she says, "Gary always would say, 'You can do it --- you should do it. Because the whole family is benefited and blessed by what you do.' And when you volunteer, you get so much more back than you give. Maybe you meet a new friend; maybe you help make a difference by working on a particular project. We may think sometimes we do so little, and yet we can do so much more if we just give ourselves the chance."

When Gary became ill (he died in 1996), he nonetheless encouraged Mary Pat when she was invited to become the Right to Life League's development director --- even though, she laughs, "I hadn't worked a regular job in 30 years. But Gary said something shortly before he died that I will never forget: 'Find something you like to do, work hard, and when you need to, reach out to family and friends for advice."

That eventually led to a similar position with Maryvale, which Mary Pat had first volunteered with in 1978. Today, she tries to encourage the young residents of Maryvale just as she was encouraged in her own youth --- although, she notes grimly, the 85 girls have had much more to deal with.

"To see what these kids have gone through can be so depressing," she admits. "Some of them have been terribly abused, and certainly abandoned in one way or another. So you appreciate so much more the blessings in your own life, and you thank God daily. And you work even harder to help these girls."

Sometimes, help is in the form of a smile, or a pat on the head. "The smallest thing can lift these girls up so much," says Mary Pat. "Just to be a little beacon in their lives to give them hope for the future, to become a friend to many of these girls --- that is so fulfilling."

She beams when she describes the volunteer work of her own children, including her daughter Bridget who volunteers at Maryvale. Her three sons (Michael, Doug and Kevin) and two daughters-in-law (Dana and Jennifer) perform volunteer service in their own communities, and are passing on their volunteer ethic to Mary Pat's four grandchildren.

"You can't say to others, 'You should be a volunteer, you should give of your time,' she says. "You have to lead by example, and there has to be something deep inside you that says, 'Give back to others.' Hopefully, that's what we can reach in each person through our own example."

FRAN CURRY
Fran Curry laughs that she never had trouble finding a job. And why would she? When were there ever enough nurses and volunteers?

But there's only one Fran Curry, who has served as a military and civilian nurse, and as a parish and diocesan volunteer extraordinaire, often in a behind-the-scenes role that keeps the process moving and an event --- a liturgy, a conference, a parish reception --- running smoothly.

At her parish --- at St. Monica Church in Santa Monica, the parish she attended as a young girl --- Fran supervises and coordinates sacristans for all Masses, orders and organizes liturgy and church supplies. At the Religious Education Congress or the archdiocesan Liturgy Conference, she serves on the registration committee and at the registration tables. Like nursing, they are tasks that require patience, care, attention to detail and a passion to serve people.

"I try to listen to people," says Fran with a smile. "The older I get, the more I see that it's the little things you do that make a difference to people. Even just saying hello can brighten someone's day."

It was listening that helped Fran find her niche in life. In Burlingame, where she attended public high school and earned money by babysitting, "one of the mothers I worked for told me, 'You know, you'd make a good nurse.' I thought, 'That sounds like a good idea.'"

She served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II, and after the war completed her education at the University of California in Berkeley. After many years working at Children's Hospital in Oakland, and for a doctor in Santa Monica, Fran retired from nursing, and ended up at St. Monica's as the parish was preparing for its centennial celebration

"Up to that point, I had never done a whole lot of volunteer work," she says. "But having made first Communion and confirmation here, it felt like coming home."

Once you start volunteering - "well, you know what happens," Fran chuckles. "And after Monsignor [Lloyd Torgerson] became pastor, that pretty much sealed the deal."

Serving the liturgy is a special joy for Fran who began attending daily Mass while in nurse's training, when she at St. Joseph Hospital. "Without even thinking about it, it became part of my life," she says quietly.

Invited to become a Eucharistic Minister to the sick, a ministry "I was especially drawn to. I remember at the first training meeting, there was the Scripture reading from Isaiah: 'Here I am, Lord. I come to do your will.' That sticks in my mind, and it kind of keeps me focused on what I do and why."

Having worked for a doctor for 30 years, she is adept at organizing, a skill that is essential in the work of a chief sacristan, and for a coordinator of bulk mailings at a busy parish like St. Monica's (which Fran also handles).

"Not many people know how to do bulk mailings, and not many like to do bulk mailings," she smiles. "But because I've been here for so long and know where things area, people come to me and ask me to help out. And we have a lot of activities going on here."

Fran also helps coordinate parish receptions, the annual parish Seder and the weekly setup of the parish information area. She prepares the general intercessions and pulpit announcements, and receives and documents all parishioner prayer requests for inclusion in the liturgy and the Book of Intercessions.

All of it on a volunteer basis, arriving most days at 5:45 a.m. to set up for the early Masses.

"Oh, sometimes it can be a challenge," she admits. "But honestly, if I wasn't doing this, I don't know what else I would do. I just love it, and the community is so wonderful and supportive. I feel very blessed to be part of it and to do whatever I can in support of it."

CLYDE VON DER AHE
It wasn't just delivering babies that mattered to Dr. Clyde Von Der Ahe. It's how they were delivered.

"It was important to me that my patients know their doctor cared," the Christ the King Church parishioner says. "That meant being with them while they were in labor, not just showing up at the end to deliver the baby. That way, I had a better sense of what they needed, the mother was more relaxed, and that would help the delivery go more smoothly."

Chuckling, he adds, "I always felt Mother Nature knew more than I did anyway, but if I could help out, well, so much the better."

Indeed, the art and science of delivering babies has been so much the better for having Clyde Von Der Ahe as one of its foremost practitioners for half a century. Combining a strong sense of Catholic morality with a commitment to the principles of medicine, Clyde has also offered his time and skill to St. Anne's Maternity Home for pregnant, unwed young mothers, helping to deliver as many as 100 babies a month.

Born into the family that founded the Von's grocery stores, Clyde attended St. Paul and St. Gregory Elementary Schools, Loyola High School and Loyola University, and graduated from St. Louis University's School of Medicine in 1943. He served in World War II, caring for wounded soldiers in Naples with the 51st Evacuation Hospital, before returning to Los Angeles and beginning his residence at Queen of Angels Hospital in 1946 --- and his half-century of service with nearby St. Anne's.

"The thing I'm proudest of," he says, "is that we never lost a mom. I think maybe St. Anne herself was looking over our shoulder."

"But I also am so grateful for that opportunity because I met some really wonderful people, both on staff and the young mothers themselves. It was not just about making sure they had their babies, although that was important; it was also about making sure they knew someone cared about them."

"And the staff was just terrific --- the nurses, the nuns, the volunteer ob/gyn's and the pediatricians. It was a very caring environment, and that was what those girls needed, even if they were going to give their babies up for adoption.

In addition to his own practice and serving at Catholic hospitals, Clyde served for 30 years on the volunteer staff at L.A. County-USC Medical Center, beginning in 1951. That was also the year he married Peggy, who, it turned out, as a young girl had lived six blocks away from Clyde. "I tell her it took her 30 years to find me," he chuckles.

Clyde did a tour of duty in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) with, and remains an active supporter of, the Mission Doctors Association, which supports the work of the Lay Mission Helpers by sending doctors to areas of the world in desperate need of trained medical care.

In "retirement," Clyde and Peggy remain daily communicants and eucharistic ministers at Christ the King. Clyde supports a number of charities through the Von Der Ahe Foundation, and is proud of his eight children and 16 grandchildren --- even if, he chuckles, none of them followed his footsteps into medicine.

"They saw what it was like with me getting home late, or having to leave the house at night to go to a hospital and deliver a baby," he says.

But when you are a doctor who cares about life and health, that's what you do. "I always wanted to give my patients the best care I could," he says. "And I always believed I did a good job. I hope the mothers and babies thought so, too."

WILLIAM WARDLAW
The joy of service --- like the joy of family --- is something Bill Wardlaw has discovered perhaps later in life than many. Which makes the discoveries all the more enjoyable.

"My family is a great blessing and reward," says the pleasant-faced husband, father, lawyer and one of Los Angeles' most prominent civic leaders. "And my involvement in the church has become much more than I ever imagined it could be."

Bill has served as co-chair of the Cathedral Campaign; board member of Loyola High School; member of the Archdiocesan Finance Council; long-time participant in Catholic Charities of Los Angeles activities; and an active parishioner at Holy Family Church in South Pasadena.

A general partner at Freeman Spogli & Co., a leveraged buyout firm, Bill's relaxed manner and easy smile, as he sits in his West Los Angeles office, suggest he is clearly enjoying what has become a more multi-faceted life, with family and church right at the top.

"My family life and church life have strengthened my faith and deepened my spirituality," he says. "And I can appreciate so much more now what our church does for the community

That involvement actually began early on. Born and raised in Colton, Bill attended Catholic elementary school, public high school, Whittier College and UCLA Law School. He was attracted him to the political arena as a teenager was the candidacy of John F. Kennedy for president in 1960.

"Electing a Catholic president in 1960," he says quietly, "made me think that anything was possible."

As a young law student he considered running for Congress himself, and served as a Congressional intern. But he concentrated his political energies on behind-the-scenes activities, including campaign manager and fundraiser, realizing all the while that politics is filled with delights and disappointments.

"Politics is a difficult and challenging life," he says. "It can be a great calling, to be willing and able to serve your community. But it also means you give up your privacy and so much of your time. And I wasn't sure that was for me."

In his thirties, Bill discovered what was for him: family life. In 1984 he married fellow lawyer Kim McLane, who now serves on the Ninth District Court of Appeals. They have two children, 16-year-old Billy and 10-year-old Katie Ann.

"And as I became a family man, I became more and more active in the church," recounts Bill. He served for several years on the board of Catholic Charities and, with Kim, became active in his children's schools. And in the 1990s, he was invited to participate in the development of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

The Cathedral, he says, "has become more successful than we could have imagined. I take pleasure in just sitting inside, listening to the water in the font, gazing at the tapestries of saints. And to see how people have responded --- Catholics, certainly, but the whole community as well --- is extremely rewarding."

"As Catholics," he says, "we are beginning to appreciate more and more that putting money in the basket, as necessary as it is, is not where stewardship ends. We need to become more actively involved by giving our time.

"And when that happens, you really begin to discover how rewarding it can be to serve your church --- especially in a parish like Holy Family, where Msgr. Clem Connolly [pastor] engages so many people in the life of the parish. That is so important, especially for young people, to know that they can make a difference in the lives of others by bringing their gifts and talents to service in the church. I just feel so blessed to be able to do what I can."