Thursday, December 7th, 2017
Rev. Lawrence Cyr
Father Lawrence Cyr, C.PP.S., 99, died December 4, 2017, at St. Charles Center, Carthagena, OH.
At the time of his death he was the oldest living member of the Kansas City Province. He died just four days short of his 80th anniversary as a Missionary of the Precious Blood and was completing his 73rd year as a priest in service to his community and the Church.
Fr. Larry was born March 10, 1918 in Fowler, IN to Stephen and Melanese Cyr. He attended grade school at the parish school in Mishawaka, IN. Following his freshmen year of high school, in the middle of the depression in 1933, he entered Brunnerdale Seminary in Canton, OH. Following high school seminary, he attended St. Joseph College in Rensselaer, IN where he was professed on December 8, 1937. In 1940, he made Definitive Incorporation and then on December 10, 1944 he was ordained, both at St. Charles Seminary in Carthagena, OH.
Following several months of substitute work, Fr. Larry was assigned to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church in Detroit, MI as an assistant pastor. At the time, there were about 25 Precious Blood priests, including five of his classmates, serving in the city - in Fr. Larry's words, "in the toughest places that there were; none of the diocesan assistants wanted to go there."
In a 2007 interview, he spoke of those early days of ministry: "We did the parish newsletter. We had a Catholic grade school and high school. There were eight hospitals in the parish. I taught in the grade school and even coached the basketball team that won the city championship."
In 1948, after three years in Detroit, Fr. Larry was transferred to Dayton, OH to serve as chaplain at Dayton State Hospital. During his four years there, he also taught at the motherhouse of the Sisters of the Precious Blood.
In 1953, he moved to St. Charles Seminary to serve as spiritual director and instructor. During his time at the seminary he also obtained a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Dayton and a Licentiate in Theology from the Angelicum in Rome.
In 1960, Fr. Larry transferred to what is now Newman College in Wichita, KS, where he served as instructor and additionally as chaplain at the Adorers of the Blood of Christ motherhouse. In 1971, he was elected as Vice-Provincial of the Kansas City Province and appointed Provincial Secretary. Later that year, Provincial Director Fr. Daniel Schaeffer was elected Moderator General, at which time Fr. Larry became the Provincial Director and moved to Liberty, MO. He served in this role for eight years.
During his time as Provincial, Fr. Larry continued to develop the Precious Blood presence in Texas, and eventually there were 11 members there, most in the Diocese of San Angelo. Following his time as Provincial then, he went to Texas in 1979, initially to do substitute work as needed.
Fr. Larry often liked to tell the story of what happened next: "In November of 1979 I received a call from the vicar general who said, 'Will you go to Sacred Heart Parish in Coleman for the weekend; the pastor is in the hospital.' So, I went on Friday and after Mass on Saturday I got a call that the pastor had died and would I stay for a while. I was there almost 26 years, the best time of my life as a priest. All in all, I have no regrets, none. This is the happiest life I could ever have had."
After serving as pastor in Coleman from 1980 to 2005, Fr. Larry moved to St. Charles Center in Carthagena where he lived in well-deserved retirement ministry until his death. When asked what he would most like people to know about his many years as a Missionary of the Precious Blood, he replied, "That I loved them and they loved me. It has been a real experience of life for me."
Fr. Larry was preceded in death by his parents, Stephen and Melanese and his siblings Sr. Jeanette Cyr, P.H.J.C.; Br. Stephen Cyr, S.C.J.; Wilber Cyr; Loretta Merrill; Blanche Widalski; Adele McHugh; Evonne Cyr; Cecile Cyr; Mary Cyr; Raymond Cyr; and Paul Cyr. He is survived by a sister-in-law, Esther Cyr, and many nieces and nephews.
Father Larry's life will be celebrated with a vigil service on Friday, December 8, 2017, at St. Charles Center at 7:00 PM.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be on Saturday, December 9, at 2:00 PM at St. Charles, Carthagena, with Rev. Joseph Nassal, C.PP.S., provincial director, presiding. Burial will follow in the community cemetery.
Visitation hours are on Friday from 1:00 p.m. until the vigil and on Saturday until the funeral Mass. May he rest in peace.
