FACULTY PORTRAIT: Larry Gooley, S.J.

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1 FACULTY PORTRAIT: Larry Gooley, S.J. by Dennis Williams On entering Fr. Gooley's home, my view was overwhelmed by a tall string bass in the far corner, its golden spruce face glowing in the winter sunlight that streamed though the south-facing windows. It reminded me that "Mister" Gooley, 61 years with the Jesuits as a student, teacher at Prep and Gonzaga, director of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Christian Life Community (nee: Sodality), author of two books and now pastor at Mary's by the Sea in Rockaway Beach Oregon, was always a musician. Last summer, as we celebrated our 50th anniversary of graduation from the Prep, Larry (although it is difficult to not call him "Mister" or "Father", he prefers to be addressed as Larry) celebrated his Golden Jubilee as a Jesuit priest. Now he is at his probable final assignment: pastor of a small diocesan parish on the beach near Tillamook, Oregon. The cute church with its distinctive maritime motif stands on the edge of the Pacific with nothing, save some shrubs, between it and the breaking waves.

2 St Mary's by the Sea in Rockaway Beach Oregon As he explained, Jesuits now don't retire: they keep at their vocation until they need assisted-care or a nursing home. The Province, recently merged with the California Province, has two such facilities: in Spokane and Los Gatos. Larry has a small house, adjacent to the church, that he has personalized with his family mementoes. His guest room and study have photos of his grandparents, immigrant Germans who grew wheat on their farm near Spokane; pictures of family reunions in Bavaria; and a Buddist shrine gently merged with a crucifix. The front room has picture windows framing an unobstructed view of the beach with waves like lines of white stallions coursing toward the shore. One could do worse for a home. Larry grew up in Spokane and attended Gonzaga. While at the university he was a member of their national award winning glee club, played bass in a trio and graduated with a degree in music. After entering the Jesuits he encountered the same inane rigidity that we did as students. He was told the Province had no use for his music training and he would teach history as a scholastic.

3 But he satisfied his passion and made his mark by establishing Prep's glee club and energizing the pep band. His gentle exhortations to join the glee club were overwhelmed by the pressure he would put on any student who could play an instrument in his pep band! During his years at Alma he formed a trio with two other Jesuits and played many gigs around Los Gatos. After theology studies he was assigned to Gonzaga Prep in 1966, where he continued leading students in glee club and also earned a Masters degree in music; but other than reunions with his college glee club he has not directed any vocal groups since. He resists temptations from the churches in Rockaway to direct a massed Messiah performance. Jesuit Center in Los Gatos After six years teaching at Gonzaga, in 1972 he was assigned to direct the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Fr. Jack Morris (more on him later), established the program in 1956, organizing a group of volunteers from Regis College in Massachusetts in Copper Valley, Alaska. Jack formalized the program, named it the JVC and ran it out of the Portland Provincial Center. Larry was the first full-time director. He contacted the other nine Jesuit provinces in the US to share this program; four regions have established their own JVC programs, and now it is an international program (Jesuit International Volunteers).

4 After successfully expanding the JVC he was assigned as Ecclesial Assistant of the Christian Life Community (we knew this as the Sodality; it was updated in 1967 to an adult-centered program and renamed). First he was in Chehalis, then Portland and finally Spokane where, in 1994 he was assigned by the Provincial (Steve Sundborg, now SU President) to care for his aging mother, who required 24-hour nursing care. They lived in the second floor of St Al's rectory. She died in 1999 at the age of 102. Larry is grateful to the Jesuits for allowing him to care for his mom in her final years. Larry Gooley, S.J. 60 Years His next assignment was St Catherine's mission in Priest River, Idaho, his first venture into parish work. This proved a stretch for Larry, as he was never comfortable in ecclesiastical settings, preferring to be outside of the church structure and with the folks. Church work was not his natural home but he adapted and flourished (and changed the parish to be less dependent on its pastor). He served there until He has been at Rockaway Beach since then, succeeding Jack Morris. His parish has about 150 full-time members, with a summer time population of many more. Vacationers come with a great spirit, having fun and engaging with the community. Larry likens his parish to a pilgrimage church considering the many visitors who pass through. Larry startled the other churches in the Tillamook area by joining with the Baptists and Nazarenes and participating in their events. He has a close friendship with the ministers in Tillamook.

5 He started visiting the local prison on Friday nights with the Nazarene pastor and holding an AA-based addiction program there for the men. His homilies at St Mary's gravitate toward dialog rather than preaching, sometimes accompanying them with his string bass! In January 2015 he started a recovery program at St Mary's. He has also startled his own parish by sharing his pulpit with protestant ministers. Larry certainly hasn't retired; he is shaking up everyone's perception of the Catholic Church. Fr. Jack Morris preceded Larry as pastor at St Mary's. Larry admired his enthusiasm and commitment (Jack was a "wild man" he says). Their connections are numerous: Larry followed Jack Morris in directing the JVC; he joined Jack and the Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage in 1982 walking through France and Switzerland for five weeks; and he succeeded Jack as pastor of St Mary's. His admiration for Jack Morris is profound. In what may be his final assignment as a Jesuit, Larry has found a profound peace with his life: serving God and mankind as a Jesuit, touching many lives with his understanding and gentleness. Far from reducing his activities and easing into retirement, he has forged new ways to serve his flock.