Deacon Cris Vega, deacon formation associate, dies
Funeral Mass was held Aug. 20 at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church, Montebello for Deacon Cris T. Vega, 67, who died Aug. 13 from complications of a recent heart attack. An active deacon serving at St. Linus Church in Norwalk, Vega served many years as archdiocesan assistant director of Diaconate Formation and mentored many deacons during his more than 20 years of ministry.
Raised in Silver City, New Mexico, Vega moved to California with his wife, Olivia, where they raised a daughter, Yvonne, and a son, Cris. In the 1970s, Vega worked as a lay person at St. Gertrude in Bell Gardens while Olivia administered the weekend catechism classes.
Following Olivia's death in 1981 due to a car accident which also injured his daughter and sisters-in-law, Vega applied to the diaconate formation program and was ordained as a permanent deacon in 1985. Active in bereavement ministry, he provided prayerful comfort to many "while maintaining a quiet dignity and humility," according to his son.
He presided over the burial of many family members, including funeral services for his daughter who preceded him in death this past June. In addition to his son, survivors include daughter-in-law, Magaly, and grandson, Elias Perez-Vega. The family requests memorial donations be sent to the Salesian Missions. Fr. Thomas Maloney, SJ
Funeral Mass was held Aug. 22 for Jesuit Father Thomas James Maloney, 71, who died Aug. 11 at Good Samaritan Hospital, San Jose, after suffering a heart attack and stroke. He had been a Jesuit for 49 years.
Born in Los Angeles, he graduated from Loyola High School in 1954 and majored in political science at Notre Dame University, where he graduated cum laude in 1958. That summer, he entered the Jesuit novitiate in Los Gatos where he took theological studies at Alma College.
On June 14, 1969, he was ordained to the priesthood at Blessed Sacrament Church in Hollywood and soon started graduate work in political science at the University of Texas. He received his Ph.D. in 1978 after writing a dissertation on the role of the Catholic Church in the political life of Peru.
In 1974, Father Maloney began teaching locally at LMU, where --- except for time off to work on his dissertation, take a sabbatical (1984) and teach for a year at Loyola of Chicago's Rome campus (1987-88) --- he stayed for the remainder of his academic career. He served as Assistant Dean in the School of Arts and Sciences from 1981-84, and was active in campus ministry and social justice projects.
Father Maloney was described by Jesuit community members as a great champion for the underprivileged who was blessed with compassion and empathy for the underdog. In 1971, he was one of the founding members of "Jesuits for Peace and Justice," whose aim was to engage in non-violent active resistance to the Vietnam War.
Father Maloney is survived by his brother Michael, of La Crescenta. Burial was at Santa Clara Mission Cemetery in Santa Clara. A Memorial Mass is being planned at LMU.
Fr. Robert Taylor, SJ
Funeral Mass was held Aug. 20 at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos for Jesuit Father Robert H. (Cog) Taylor, 89, who died Aug. 7 of an apparent heart attack. He had been a Jesuit for 66 years.
Born on a homestead near Stoneville, S.D., he graduated from Creighton University in 1940. Despite deafness in his left ear, and after enduring rejection by four provincials and two bishops because of his disability, he was accepted by the California Province and entered the novitiate at Los Gatos.
Following studies in Spokane, "Cog" [for Cognition] taught sociology and philosophy locally at then-Loyola University from 1947-49, where he became known for his clear explanations of complex ideas. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 19, 1952 in Kansas where he had transferred to be closer to his family.
After completing his theological coursework, Father Taylor returned to Loyola where he spent the next 40 years as a philosophy professor and, for much of the time, as chair of the department. In 1961, he took academic leave from Loyola and went to Rome, where he earned a doctorate in philosophy cum laude from the Gregorian University, with a dissertation on the British ethicist, Alfred Ewing.
Returning to Loyola in 1963, he taught ethics until his retirement in 1988, then remained at the university and devoted himself to pastoral ministry. He learned Spanish, which helped him in his many pastoral assignments in L.A., South Lake Tahoe, Sacramento and Ogden, Utah.
An avid card-player and a regular at the bridge table, he also loved to try his luck at the tables in Reno. His instructions regarding his funeral service were to keep it "short and skip all the platitudes about any supposed virtues." It was permissible, however, to mention "his love of casinos and lack of it for Provincials." (This from a man who complained that there were no more characters in the Society, noted his fellow Jesuits.)
Survivors include Cog's sister, Sister of Charity Patricia Taylor of Dubuque, Iowa, and numerous nephews and nieces. LMU is planning a Memorial Mass for Father Taylor.
Sr. Mary Claire McLaughlin, CSJ
Funeral Mass was held Aug. 6 at Carondelet Center for Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet Mary Claire McLaughlin, who died July 27 following hip repair surgery.
A native of Los Angeles, she attended Holy Cross School and St. Mary's Academy. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1937 and taught music and art in schools throughout California. She carried a great devotion to South Central Los Angeles and, in particular, to Holy Cross School, where she returned to teach more than once. Burial was at Holy Cross Cemetery.
Sr. Alicia Marie Maloney, CSC
Funeral Mass was held July 5 at the Church of Our Lady of Loretto in Notre Dame, Indiana, for Holy Cross Sister Alicia Marie (Hilda Elizabeth), who died July 1. A hospital dietician for most of her ministry, she worked at Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills three separate times in the '60s, '70s and '80s (receptionist 1978-1987).
Memorial donations may be made to the Sisters of the Holy Cross Ministry with the Poor Fund, 401 Bertrand Hall, Saint Mary's, Notre Dame, IN 46556.
Fr. William Heery, O.Carm.
Funeral Mass was celebrated Aug. 16 at St. Jane de Chantal Church, North Hollywood, for Carmelite Father William Heery, who died Aug. 13 at the age of 91 in Burbank.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, he entered Mount Carmel College, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and made his simple profession of vows with the Carmelites in 1936. Three years later to the day, he made his solemn profession to the Carmelites and was ordained to the priesthood in Chicago's St. Clara Church on May 23, 1942.
Father Heery then entered Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where in 1943 he received a Master's degree in Sociology. He also did post-graduate work at Notre Dame University and the University of San Diego.
In September of 1943, Father Heery began his ministry career as teacher in his home town of Chicago, where he taught at his former rival school, Mount Carmel High School. He then served in education, parish ministry and mission work (in Chile) before returning to Chicago, and later Canada and Virginia, in parish work.
In 1969 he moved to North Hollywood to minister at St. Jane Francis de Chantal where he served for the next 14 years. While there, Father Heery enjoyed his Spanish Apostolate, teaching in the parish school and serving the senior citizens.
Father Heery became semi-retired in 1983 and settled at Our Lady of Mount Carmel priory in Encino. While in residence there, he continued to assist at St. Jane's parish, served in missionary work in South Texas, did chaplaincy ministry at a Juvenile Detention Center in Sylmar, and served as a hospital chaplain in Bakersfield.
In 2004, Father Heery moved to the Burbank Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center. On May 24, 2007, he celebrated his 65th jubilee of ordination to the priesthood.
Interment was at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City. |