Denver Catholic

CATHOLIC LIFE I 5 DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER I OCTOBER 9, 2013 Deacon Johnson served in Denver Archdiocese HENDERSONVILLE, N.C.—Deacon Richard "Dick" E. Johnson Jr., 81, of Hendersonville, died Sept. 24 at his home. He was born May 14, 1932, in Paterson, N.J. to Richard E. Johnson Sr. and Loretta R. Redmond Johnson. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a first lieutenant in the 506th Air Refueling B-29 Squadron during the Korean War. After his military service, he resided in Deerfield Beach, Fla., where he met Mary E. Dobso and married her on Sept. 12, 1959, at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He owned and operated Pompano Business Machines in Pompano Beach, Fla., until 1970 when he sold his business and moved his family to Loveland, Colo. He was a real estate broker and developer in the Loveland area until his retirement in 2002. In 1984, he was ordained a deacon in the Archdiocese of Denver and was assigned to St. John the Evangelist Church in Loveland. In 2002, he returned to Florida to be closer to his youngest grandchildren and lived in Pembroke Pines until 2007, when he and his wife moved to Hendersonville. He is survived by his wife, and his children: Kathryn A. Hantsbarger and her husband, David, of Loveland, Colo.; Colleen A. Johnson of Leonardtown, Md.; Richard E. Johnson III of Tucson, Ariz.; and Stephen P Johnson and his . wife, Pamela, of Davie, Fla.; his grandchildren: Air Force Capt. Jonathan D. Hantsbarger of Gulf Breeze, Fla.; Christa A. Hecker and her husband, Vincent, of Fort Collins, Colo., Brendan A. Johnson of Davie, Fla.; and Dominic L. Johnson of Davie, Fla.; as well as many nieces and nephews. A funeral Mass was celebrated Sept. 30 in Our Lady of the Angels Chapel at Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville. Interment was held Oct. 1 at the Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Black Mountain, N.C., with military honors. Zombies of more ideas. "Truth, goodness and beauty became incarnate in Christ. But can we find Christ—as a human reality—even in something as secular and pop-culture as the zombie phenomenon?" he said. "That's what we want to discover." Theology on Tap is held monthly at Katie Mullen's Irish Pub, 1550 Court Place in Denver. The event begins at 7 p.m. and is open to the public. From Page 3 with others. "We don't just want so-called 'head knowledge.' We need 'heart knowledge,'" Deacon Goebel said. "Knowledge of what's going on in our own experience, but also a realization that this shows us something of what goes on David Hazen: 303-715-3122; david. in the hearts of other people. I want to help people encounter one another in hazen@archden.org; www.twitter.com/ a real way, not just in the appropriation DaveHazen Stefanick From Page 3 Through it all he never cried out and never cursed his killers. Even in the midst of his torment, he was thinking of his Huron brothers, encouraging them not to be afraid. He told them: "Bear up with courage under the few torments remaining. The sufferings will end with your lives. The grandeur which follows will never have an end." He lasted four hours under the barrage of demented torture, and St. Gabriel, for 16 hours. By the time they died, as a result of their ministry, 7,000 Huron had been baptized. Seven years after their deaths an Iroquois girl was born to a chief in the very tribe that killed him. She is known today as St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American to be canonized. Within a seven-year span, eight of the Jesuit missionaries would give up their lives like Saints John and Gabriel had. As Jesus, and, in a special way, the martyrs who followed his footsteps show us, souls have a hefty price tag. Christians don't make converts by calling down to the world from the top of an ivory tower. We don't make converts by treating the Church like a safe fortress to keep the sinners out. We spread the message of Jesus' love as he did himself, by knocking down walls, entering people's lives, and becoming their brothers and sisters. We can't love people so that they come to know God, because that'd be as phony as the "friendship" of a bad salesman who's your friend with strings attached. Our desire to share the Gospel has to come from a love that's so sincere that even if people reject us and the life we stand for, we'll still love them, as a true brother who's waiting whenever they want to come home. That's the kind of love that'll open people up to what we have to say. It's the kind of witness the Huron needed 400 years ago. It's the kind of witness the world needs today. Visit speaker and author Christopher Stefanick at www.RealLifeCatholic. com. Stefanick's column is distributed by the Denver Catholic Register, the official newspaper of the Denver Archdiocese. ARCHBISHOP AQUILA'S SCHEDULE Oct. 14: Wedding anniversary Mass, Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (12:30 p.m.) Oct. 15: Andrew dinner for vocations, St. Mary Parish, Littleton (6 p.m.) BISHOP MACHEBEUF HIGH SCHOOL PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2013 10AM TO 2PM Come discover our academic community of faith Explore our campus on a student-led tour Meet our students, faculty, staff, administration, and coaches Learn all about the Machebeuf Experience OUR CORE VALUES Devotion to God ∙ Academic Excellence ∙ Community Service Ethnic & Cultural Variety ∙ Christian Morality www.machebeuf.org 458 Uinta Way Denver CO 80230 Director of Admissions Teresa Alvarado p: 303.344.0082 ext. 117 e: talvarado@machebeuf.org

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