Dates

• Existence: 1923 - 2006

Biography

Fr. James Roland Menard, 83, died on October 7, 2006 at Regis Infirmary, Sacred Heart Jesuit Center. He celebrated 65 years as a Jesuit this year and was a priest for 52 of those years.

Jim was born in Los Angeles on March 4, 1923. He attended Loyola High for a year and, graduated from Hollywood High School. While in high school, he worked in the Lockheed aircraft plant, helping assemble the P-38 Lightning fighter plane. He entered the Novitiate at Los Gatos on August 14, 1941, continued his studies at Mount St. Michael’s, Spokane, where he was active working with the deaf, and taught Latin and French at St. Ignatius Prep during regency, 1948-51.

Theology studies were taken at Alma College and Jim was ordained to the priesthood in San Francisco on June 12, 1954. From 1956 to 1963 Jim taught theology and philosophy at the University of San Francisco. During his tenure on the Hilltop he also served as a student chaplain, moderator of athletics, and was active with the Knights of Columbus. He also found time to assist as part time chaplain at Alcatraz prison.

In 1963 Jim was assigned to the newly established novitiate at Montecito as Socius to the Master of Novices, where he brought his skills and enthusiasm to the formation program. He used his artistic talent to advantage, designing and carving the large sign that stood at the entrance of the property. Leaving Santa Barbara in 1967, Jim spent a year at Loyola High as chaplain and religion teacher. He was then named Province Vocation Director at a time of diminishing numbers of novices and many changes in the formation program.

In 1969 Jim was assigned to Brophy Prep, which would be his home for thirty years. He taught religion, counseled students and was director of audio-visual services for the school. He maintained the large slide collection and designed multi-media shows to illustrate his lectures. He participated in adult education seminars for parents for many years and later directed 19th Annotation retreats for Brophy lay faculty members. Jim did not limit his activity to the classroom. During summers he renovated gardens, built a patio fountain, and rewired one floor of the school building for sound.

As a hobby, he kept a large aviary. His parrot, “Gabby,” who had a repertoire of random phrases ranging from “Go, Broncos!” and “Isn’t that something!” to “God is smart,” delighted the community and students alike, while his cockatoo, “Boomer,” and other birds brightened the surroundings.

In 1999 Jim retired to Sacred Heart Jesuit Center, where he kept active with his painting and interest in astronomy. Failing health brought him to Regis Infirmary, where he experienced a slow decline over several years.

Jim was an enthusiastic and hard worker in whatever assignment he was given. He brought his tremendous energy into the high school and university classrooms and to the extracurricular activities he moderated. He had a wide range of interests, was adept mechanically and artistically, and brought all his gifts to bear on his ministry. He made the woven yarn Stations of the Cross for the Brophy chapel, which has been characterized as “an icon of his love for the community and … a reminder of his many years of service to the apostolate.”

Even sickness could not dampen Jim’s buoyancy. Once hospitalized with an infection that left him temporarily deaf, it was reported that “His spirits are excellent. Has anyone ever seen Jim Menard when his sprits weren’t?” This was equally true of Jim in his later years. May he rest in peace.

-Obituary prepared by Br. Dan Peterson, S.J. for the Jesuits West Province newsletter, Vineyard.

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