fr. edmundo andres c.m.f. and fr. nnamdi ebem c.m.f.

two of our claretian brothers–fr edmundo andres and fr nnamdi ebem– have gone to their eternal reward with our Lord.

i lived with fr edmundo in perth amboy, nj at our lady of fatima parish. he was a quiet and unassuming man– a good man at heart. he entered seminary in spain and grew up and was formed as a claretian. it was his whole life until the end. as an avid reader and scientist, he had a very analytic mind. although i pride myself with a pretty decent chess street game, he would beat me more often than i would like.

my favorite memory with edmundo revolved around a quincenera party at the parish one saturday evening. since there was no alcohol allowed in the hall, people used to try to sneak it in. one group of young adults was not so discreet and tried to bring it in through the front door. fr ed confronted them and they were not too happy being the object of his challenge. but he stood up to them firmly and did not mince any words. i had accompanied him and watch the exchange thinking, “are we (a 70 year old ed and i) going to have to throw down against these young guys?” but thankfully, they ultimately listened and left with their beer. edmundo had some moxie in him too!

nnamdi and i served at holy cross-immaculate heart of mary parish in chicago. he was a calm and steady presence. he always had a positive outlook on life and those he encountered. he found the comical in many situations that life threw at us.

my favorite community memories of nnamdi were during soccer’s world cup. he was such a passionate fan and would teach tom joyce and me the finer points of the game during that tournament. the game gave him great joy even if nigeria did not win it all. one lasting memory was whenever nnamdi was cooking his favorite stews from nigeria, i would bask in the curious and mysterious smells that would waft through the kitchen and then throughout the house.

rest in peace my brothers! you will never be forgotten