Br. Charles Dennis, OP

"I was a barber for 17 years. For 10 years I owned and operated my own shop. Then the Lord made his own calling more apparent. I sold my shop and entered the Dominican Order at Oakland California." Such was Brother Charlie's last entry in a scrapbook summarizing the early part of his life. In those pages we might also note the religious presence of his loving family, and we could note his Korean war experiences. We can see him in the trenches, firing a huge machine gun, and being injured by a hand grenade.

Even in his early days we can see the drama of his life - the journey to become an apostle. By the time the Korean war ended, Charlie wanted to be a priest, but he perceived his desire as impractical because of his mediocre grades and his slight stutter. But the desire persisted, and when he ran into Bro. Norbert Fihn, in the early 1970's, he quickly saw that the Dominican Brother's vocation was God's answer for who he was.

He left his barber shop, but he brought with him all his talents and trades. He continued to cut hair for his Dominican brothers - for shut-ins, the barber shop came to them. And a good prayer always accompanied his visit. In this, our Brother Charles resembled another Dominican barber, Brother Martin de Porres.

When asked about theology, Martin would answer, without dropping his broom, "this also is theology." Theology is the science which treats of God and the things of God, a getting to know God. This knowledge, for all God's friends, is the beatific vision. Martin de Porres was one such friend of God, and so was our brother Charles.

During his formation days, Brother Charles attended classes at DSPT, as well as at Laney College. When he went to St. Dominic's in San Francisco, he took his early hospital training at St. Mary's Hospital. He received his accreditation with the National Catholic Chaplains Association and continued his work as Catholic Chaplain at Presbyterian Hospital in San Francisco and later at Rogue Valley Medical Center at Medford, Oregon.

His hospital attire was a Roman collar and a black and white checkered jacket. Six pockets held everything he needed - rosaries, medals, holy pictures, candy, and games for children. Many whom he visited had received a life-saving "St. Jude Valve," so when anyone asked, "Who is St. Jude?," Brother Charles would reach into his pocket for a St. Jude holy card, in Spanish or English. The greatest joy for brother Charles was to bring people back to the faith, and his favorite work was with children.

In San Francisco, Brother Charles had a list of about 70 Catholics daily at the hospital, but he was also concerned about the sick at home. Every day he tried to make a special soup for lunch for Father Agius and Father Morrison, who had both been diagnosed with cancer. When frustrated that turkey or other left-overs disappeared before he could use them, he began to wrap them in butcher paper, which he labeled, "Fish for Soup." For two years his leftovers were secure.

The great drama of Charlie becoming an apostle did not end once he entered the Dominicans. He kept pushing himself and his community, so he could exercise more than his practical skills. One superior remembers him practicing the Mass readings over and over again so that his confidence could overcome any tendency to stutter.

The people of Ashland and Medford are the ones to attest to how great an apostle Charles - our Brother Charlie - became. They are the ones whom he saw after he became a fully accredited Catholic hospital chaplain; they are the ones who heard him preach (almost always about the saints) at Our Lady of the Mountain Parish, every Monday and Tuesday morning. They were the last to feel his love, compassion, and optimism.

Charles took his vacation from the Rogue Valley Medical Center every October to go to Hawaii because his father was from there, and because fishing is extraordinarily good in Hawaii. It was always in October so he could watch the World Series, uninterrupted. This past October, 1995, the cancer would not let him go. In November, with the help of a parishioner, he wrote us all a letter saying good bye. By December, he was gone.

Dear brother Charles, may you, who loved Mary so well and said her rosary daily, find a safe place beneath her mantel with all our Dominicans. We send you to Benicia to complete the circle of Dominican brothers and priests that began in 1850. Good bye, Charlie! We love you and will miss you. You are one of our saints, and one that makes us proud to be Dominican. May the blessing of the Lord come upon you and upon all of us as we celebrate your entrance to eternal life.

- Fr. David Geib, O.P.
- Fr. John Klaia, O.P.

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