Bro. Gene was a fascinating man. During the early 80s, I was teaching at St. Mary’s High School and Jim Eppy was teaching at Chaminade. I would often visit Jim and we would share stories of our first years of teaching. We both found Bro. Gene and imposing figure. As we sat in the club room at Chaminade, Bro. Gene would be returning from his evening walk. Once in a while he would stop and make a comment to us about teaching—usually that we were too nice to our students and that what they really need is discipline. While he was serious and direct, as I got to know him over my years in St. Louis, I also understood that he really was a soft touch and cared deeply for his students—even as he would discipline them.

Bro. Gene was a teacher. I would go so far as to say he was a teacher’s teacher. Monikers such as Catholic and Marianist, while important to him, were wastes of word. Bro. Gene neither wasted nor minced words. At the core of his person was an understanding that he taught by every word and action. Bro. Gene did not distinguish between his faith life, his teaching, and his love for the Brothers. For him, they were different aspects of the same thing. What it meant to be a Brother of Mary. He could do nothing other than be a Catholic and Marianist educator—one of the finest we have ever produced.

As Marianists, we believe that our life is an incarnation of God’s presence. When our Brothers die, I try to understand what their lives revealed to us about God’s presence among us. Our readings provide a clue. Bro. Gene was a man who sought wisdom. His study of science and mathematics, pursuit of photography, his relationships with the Brothers revolved around his attempt to make sense of the world. I think for Bro. Gene life was a highly complex calculus problem the he worked out over time. Jim Eppy once told me that along with praying the Rosary on his long walks, Bro. Gene would try to think of every possible mistake his students might make in their assignments so he could help them better understand the concepts. Math was part of the way he prayed and how he experienced the wonders of the universe and his relationship with God.

Bro. Gene was a man of deep faith. He shared his faith and his experience of God in every class he taught, in every picture he took, in every attempt to pass on the Catholic intellectual tradition. When he looked at his students he saw possibilities and potentials. As a teacher, Bro. Gene was demanding, thorough, rigorous—even those words fail to describe him. Students who passed through his classes (and passed his classes) knew they had been taught by a Master. They saw a man who understood righteousness and justice and who demanded that in his students. Like Fr. Moellering who died last spring, the alumni of Chaminade (and I am sure Central, McBride, DeAndreis, St. Michael’s, St. Joe’s, and Holy Redeemer) ask about Gene—telling stories (some of which we can not share here) but remembering fondly a man who challenged them to reach their God-given potential…to seek Wisdom and a heart of understanding.

Bro. Gene’s faith encouraged him to develop innovative ways to teach his courses. He used to make fun of all the innovations in learning that Jim Eppy and I would discuss during those evenings at Frische Hall. He was such a good teacher—I later discovered—that he naturally did all those things because he innately understood that’s how people learn. (He just avoided the jargon!) He would never use the term learning style (in fact, he probably wants to reach down from heaven and give me famous claw hook on my shoulder) but he understood what it took to help a child learn. He is still doing that. Many of his techniques, examples, worksheets are still in use at Chaminade where Jim Eppy has adapted them to modern technology. Bro. Gene continues to influence the way young people understand the world in which we live and how God works in that world. I do not think Jim ever told him that, but I bet he is smiling right now and trying to figure out what mistakes Jim is making so he can correct them. He is bringing anew twist to the communion of saints.

Along with his pursuit of Wisdom and his faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Bro. Gene was a salty man. He had bad days these last years, but he never lost his salt—his hope. Gene’s light still shines on top of that hill. His work and his life still glorify God. He made us laugh. He made us think. He helped us give thanks for the gifts God has given us.

Bro. Gene was in his sixties when I first met him—a vigorous sixties. He would recounted stories about the past—some of which we have heard the past few days and others we will share later over a beer or a glass of wine. In his life, Bro. Gene reveals to us what it means to be faithful sons of Chaminade whose salt was the salt of one who strove be a faithful imitation of Jesus Christ…his life is a metaphor (maybe I should say quadratic equation) for Marianist life.

I imagine he is in heaven now, walking with Jesus. I just hope Jesus can keep up. He is watching us, grinning wryly, wondering what the fuss is about. In 1935, he wrote: “there is no doubt that to become a religious in the Society of Mary is my vocation.” There is no doubt when the final derivation is worked…when the final proof is put in place…when the lens in finally focused…when the last joke is told…we will see Bro. Gene Feld walking ahead of us—way ahead of us—encouraging us to faithfulness and inquisitiveness. He is with his family and the Brothers who have gone before us. As our prayers will state shortly—“where he is we hope one day to be.” Even now, though, as we continue to live, pray, and work together, we join with Gene and all our Brothers with him and together by our lives and words we say:

“May the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit be glorified in all places by the Immaculate Virgin Mary.”