Classic Car Show 3rd ANNUAL Classic Car Show

SAVE THE DATE 34th ANNUAL MID - SEASON BANQUET

Born Thomas Corr on April 27, 1914 in County Kilkenny, Ireland, he was in the dry good business for several years before entering the brotherhood as a postulant in 1939. Young Patrick Corr’s recognizable concern for his family and his neighbors, especially the elderly and the sick, led him to the Hospitaller Brothers of St. John of God. He was 28 years old when he took the Hospitaller Brothers’ vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and hospitality.

In 1945, in Blackrock, County Dublin, as a young Brother, he received his diploma in psychiatric nursing and was trained to nurse and teach mentally handicapped children. It was than, when his Provincial announced that he was being transferred to Los Angeles, where the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God was pioneering to establish a nursing home for men of long-term sickness and incurable diseases. Since his arrival, in 1946, Brother Patrick has served at St. John of God Retirement & Care Center, on West Adams Boulevard at Western Ave., Los Angeles. Upon his arrival, Brother Patrick was requested to start raising funds. In 1968 he was elected provincial and served in that capacity for six years.

Lavish mansions stood prominently along West Adams Boulevard and nearby Berkeley Square housing the affluent. They were symbols of stateliness and elegance, designed by the best architects of Europe and the US. While some of the wealthy were forced out during the Great Depression, a number remained. As hard times continued, many were suddenly unable to pay the property taxes. Wlth no buyers in sight, all they could do was to donate or sell some of the mansions to religious organizations.

It was through this process that St. John of God Retirement & Care Center got its start in Mid-City by purchasing the Fitzgerald Mansion along with the adjoining Wiseman MacDonald home, in 1942. In 1949, the Bayley residence on the corner of West Adams and St. Andrews place was acquired. In 1952, the first wing of our nursing home was completed. The hospital building and the chapel were build in 1971 and in 1981, the administration and development office building was opened. By 1978, funds were raised to acquire the Durfee property for the Brothers’ residence and as a park for the patients and residents. A year later, the Titus home on St. Andrew Place was purchased.

Under Brother Patrick’s fund raising direction, the hospital has expanded from its initial one building, three employees and twelve patients in 1942 to the current complex of five buildings and 150 employees caring for some 189 patients. Brother Patrick also raised Five Million Dollars to build the Grande Apartments. These 51 apartments are for independent seniors who want a place of their own with security, without the responsibilities of a home.

Brother Patrick founded the Helpers Club, Women’s League and the Hospitaller Foundation. He proudly points out that the hospital "started with nothing and we have raised money (millions) to provide care without any government assistance.’ The Retirement and Care Center offers the elderly and the long-term ill various levels of care, with a specialized unit for patients of Alzheimer’s disease and related brain disorders.

Brother Patrick’s most enthusiastic reminiscences are his richest stories of his encounters with the innumerable Los Angeles’ families, their brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, neighbors and friends who have supported the work of the Brothers. With gratitude, sincerity, simplicity and directness, reflecting the fidelity and constancy of his community, he tells of the generous, charitable and caring people God has put in his way. With the help of Almighty God, St. John of God Retirement & Care Center has developed into one of the Crown Jewels in this City of the Angeles, where the elderly are cared for with dignity, he says.

AWARDS RECEIVED

For 40 years of dedicated service at St. John of God:
City of LA June 22, 1988
Dave Cunningham - Councilman 10’~ District

From President Ronald Regan
From Pete Wilson - US Senate
From George Deulmejiar

On 50 years as a Brother of St. John of God:
City of LA-April 7, 1991
John Ferrero - Councilman 4"’ District

32~ Medallion of Merit - Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick

Certificate of Appreciation - Mayor of LA - Tom Bradley
November 15, 1990
June 22, 1988

Recognition of Brotherhood Award - Roger Cardinal Mahony
June 11, 1997