Fr. Lawrence Rodriguez Funeral Mass was held Jan. 4 in Santo Venia en San Marcos, Leon, Spain, for Father Lawrence Rodriguez, 84, a retired priest of the archdiocese, who died Jan. 2 in his native Spain.

Born in the province of Leon, Spain, he began his seminary training in his home country and completed his studies for the priesthood in Kansas City, Kansas. He was chaplain at Orange County Hospital from 1954 to 1958, then a missionary in the Dominican Republic. From 1964-1973, he was an associate pastor at Our Lady of the Pillar Church, Santa Ana.

In 1975, after serving as pastor of Most Holy Crucifix Church in New York City for two years, he returned to Southern California where he served as an associate pastor at La Purísima Concepción, Lompoc (1975-78): St. Anne, Santa Monica (1978-86); and St. Helen, South Gate (1986-1994). He retired in 1994 and had been living privately in Spain for several years.

Br. Bob Wade, SM Funeral services were held recently for Marianist Brother Bob Wade, 84, who died Dec. 8. He had been a Marianist for 63 years, serving several years at Junípero Serra High School in the 1950s and again in the ’80s.

Born in Denver, he first met the Marianists while attending St. Joseph Alameda High School near Oakland. However, it wasn’t until serving in World War II that he felt God’s call, explaining in a letter to the Province, “By daily Mass and Communion, and the aid of the Blessed Mother, it grew in me.”

Upon his return from the war, he finished studies at St. Joseph and entered the novitiate in Beacon, New York. After completing his first assignment at Saint Louis College (now Saint Louis School) in Honolulu, he returned to California in the late ’50s to work in maintenance at Junipero Serra High School in Gardena. He was known around the school for his kind presence, the Jeep he drove on the grounds and his keen interest in Serra athletics.

Brother Wade was known as a jack-of-all-trades, and was in high demand as a handyman. He worked in construction and maintenance in Santa Cruz and Cupertino (1970-79) and also volunteered at Yosemite National Park for several summers in the ’70s. He returned to serve at Serra (1982-85) and then moved to the Queen of the Apostle parish community in San Jose, where the Marianists had just started to minister. After four years at the parish, Brother Wade served at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco before retiring in 1993. According to his fellow brothers, he was always very concerned about people, compassionate and understanding and ready to help anyone.

Sr. Joseph Clare McCarthy, SP Funeral Mass was held Dec. 15 at Church of the Immaculate Conception in Indiana for Sister of Providence Joseph Clare McCarthy, 90, who died Dec. 12. She had been a Sister of Providence for 72 years.

Born in Chicago, she entered the Congregation in 1939. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and a master’s degree from Indiana State University. She ministered in education for 53 years in schools in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and California. Locally, she taught at St. Joseph in Hawthorne (1953-57). Burial was at the Sisters of Providence cemetery in Indiana.