The last time I was in Texas visiting Brother John, he was in the hospital after a fall and suffered a contusion on his head. When the neurologist did his rounds, he sat down with Brother John and said, “I’m a devout Catholic, but I have never understood the difference between a Brother and a Father, can you explain it?” Brother John, bandages and all, broke into an explanation about how a Brother lives in community, takes vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, they do not perform sacraments, but rather they often go on to teach or fulfill a mission of service. The doctor said, “That’s the best explanation I have ever received.”

While we could all share hundreds of “Brother John stories,” this one represents the essence of a man who was always teaching and always serving from a place of love, regardless of his own health or needs. Countless young people and staff who have come through the gates of Rancho have been recipients of his love and service. Regardless of faith, age, gender or role, we are all his students.

For a man that took a vow of poverty, chastity and obedience, he gave some of the best financial, marital, relationship, and parenting guidance and advice that

I have ever heard. He told me to honor my marriage and my family every day, to eat dinner at the table and share about our days and reassured me that as long as I taught my children good values when they were really young, the rest did not matter (phew!). While Brother John may not have seemed “obedient” in the traditional sense, he was clear that he worked for God, and he worked for the youth and staff at Rancho. He did that every day, 7 days a week, for over 60 years. He zoomed in for Board meetings from Texas, he had input with our financial advisors, and he made sure that my husband and I were still sitting down for dinner even with our daughters off to college.

He told me many times that life is really just about love and if you lead from love, the rest makes sense. Thank you, Brother John, for teaching so many and teaching me what life is really about, right up until your last breath. Your teachings will live on in all of us forever.