 Fr. Paul Mary Robert Starrs, OP
The so-called “vital statistics” of a man really tell us little about the real
substance of his life, but they are a necessary adjunct to what must be a very inadequate
summary of the truly vital and full life of Fr. Paul Starrs.
Born in San Francisco on July 23, 1920, one of two sons of Francis and
Pauline Starrs, he was baptized Robert. He
first attended grammar school at Sacred Heart parish and, with the family’s move to Oakland in 1930, St. Cyril’s. His high school years were spent at St. Mary’s
in Berkeley and his college education came at St. Mary’s in Moraga.
In 1940, taking
the name of Brother Paul, he received the habit at Kentfield and was professed there the
following year. Philosophical studies were
done at St. Albert's in Oakland from 1941-1947. Ordained
in his native San Francisco on June 14, 1947, he went on to complete his theological
studies at The Angelicum, Rome, and received the Lectorate and Licentiate there in 1948.
Back at St. Albert's, Fr. Paul began a priestly
career of thirty-six years devoted mainly to teaching and study. In this area he was to influence the lives of
literally thousands. For twenty-one years at
St. Albert's, he not only instructed our students in Canon Law, Church History and
Theology, but also held positions as Librarian, Director of the Third Order, Province
Historian and Archivist, Socius to the Master of Students, and finally, from 1964 to 1969,
Regent of Studies.
In 1962 he received the ad gradus paesentatus. In addition, he taught at
Notre Dame College, Belmont, from 1951 to 1964. This
was a position he truly enjoyed, and there he formed many close friendships with faculty
and students that endured all his life. At
this time, Paul inaugurated the work of The Aquinas Institute Program of Theology for the
Laity, an innovation, perhaps the first of its kind on the West Coast. Classes were begun at Oakland, in Berkeley and in
Belmont, and were extended to San Francisco and Sacramento.
This highly successful venture foreshadowed the later post-Vatican II involvement
of lay Catholics in the Sacred Sciences. Also
during Paul's tenure as Regent of St. Albert's College, he became a member of the faculty
of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley in 1964.
In 1969, he spent a year in Los Angeles, completing studies in Library Science, and
in 1970 he took on the position of Associate Librarian in the Law Library of the
University of California at Berkeley. For nine years he commuted daily from his residence
at St. Dominic's in Benicia (looking very academic in his tweeds), until ill health forced
an assignation once more to St. Albert's
Priory. However, Paul continued his work at UC
until his death. Such are the
"statistics" of Fr. Paul. They only
hint at the real vitality of the priest who served his God, Church and Order so well.
Those who knew him closely were aware of a
razor-keen intellect in love with Truth, balanced by a lively sense of humor. His own delight in telling a joke or recounting a
humorous incident was itself a delight. His
puns were basically very intellectual—and fittingly atrocious. He was an intense conversationalist who also
practiced the art of listening well. Those who
came to him in need or for spiritual or intellectual help found kindness and an almost
childlike eagerness to assist. Paul's piety
was unobtrusive yet deep. At profession he
also took the name of "Mary," and his "PMS" on many a document
testifies commitment to her.
In his later
years, this devotion brought him a mellow serenity that suggested great peace of soul. This peace was reflected in his passing. On June 3, 1984, after having completed the house
retreat at St. Albert's, he enthusiastically recounted to a dear friend the marvelous
spiritual experience he had enjoyed the previous week.
He then literally fell asleep in the Lord. A
funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Albert's on June 6, offered by his Dominican brothers
and sisters, relatives and friends, many of them his teaching colleagues, others his
former students. He is buried with his fellow
Dominicans at St. Dominic's Cemetery in Benicia. May
these all remember him fondly, and may he rest in peace.
--Fr.
Kevin Carr, O.P. |
