Monday, January 14, 2019
I remember Adrian and his father Peter from my boyhood days in Holy Name of Mary Parish. Peter was Father Rooney's right hand man. The Jansens lived behind the church on the West side of Campbell, just two doors South of the school. Peter was the church caretaker, Mr. Fixit and a one man St. Vincent de Paul Society. Adrian was the head altar boy and assistant cub master. In the summer of 1939 Lewis Cook and Adrian, who was then 19, took 40 Cubs to Point Pelee for a one week vacation. Lewis' mother was the cook. We slept in tents on ticks filled with straw with butter boxes at the foot of each bed containing all our worldly goods. We swam in Lake Erie three times a day and said prayers as often. Nobody drowned. I was eight years old. When I came to St. Peter's Seminary in 1947, at age 16, the first one to greet me was Adrian. That year he took me under his wing, entertained me with tales of the South Pacific and, being an older man at age 27, shared his wisdom. Over the years, when we occasionally met, Adrian would welcome me like a long lost friend. With Adrian, once a friend - always a friend. He will be busy these days welcoming many. Father Adrian is a great addition to the Heavenly Kingdom. Jack
