In Memoriam: Br. Marvin Hamann, C.Ss.R.
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July 4, 2022Beloved Br. Marvin Hamann, C.Ss.R. died at the age of 92 at St. Clement Redemptorist Mission Community in Liguori on June 24. A gentle man with a ready smile, Br. Marvin faithfully served in financial positions at various ministry sites throughout the Denver Province for more than four decades.
Marvin Howard Hamann was born on January 9, 1930 in Detroit, MI. He enlisted in the Army after high school and served as an infantryman in the Korean War. He easily adapted to a rigorous and disciplined routine, and learned that he could sleep anywhere – even under a howitzer. After he was honorably discharged from the military, he began a career in banking.
A decade later, he felt called to religious life. He made his first profession of vows as a Redemptorist on August 2, 1963 and was appointed to the staff at St. Joseph’s Preparatory College in Edgerton, WI. Leadership was so impressed with his work ethic that he was appointed to the Liguori Publications Post Office. He was serving as a clerk when he professed perpetual vows on August 2, 1967, and soon was named Postmaster, a key position for Liguori Publications during the organization’s heyday.
Br. Marvin was assigned to the Provincial Administration staff at the Eucharistic Heart Provincial Residence in Chicago in 1970. A year later, he joined the staff at Villa Redeemer in Glenview, IL. He returned to St. Josephs’ Preparatory College in 1973 to assist with the Co-Redemptorist Association for the next four years.
Br. Marvin was assigned to the financial office at Holy Redeemer College in Waterford, WI from 1977 to 1980, when he was appointed to the financial office at St. Joseph’s Parish in Denver.
After two years, he transferred to a similar position at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Redemptorist Parish in Kansas City, where he served until 1987. He was assigned to the health care center at Immaculate Conception College in Oconomowoc, and transferred to the newly built St. Clement’s Health Care Center in Liguori, where he served until 2000.
Br. Marvin was serving in the financial office at St. Joseph Parish in Wichita, KS when illness struck in 2005. After a few months of recuperation, he joined the financial office at St. John Neumann House in St. Louis. After two years, Br. Marvin officially retired. He joined the Liguori Mission House community in 2007, where he was known for his conservative views, long daily walks and eagerness to remain useful despite his physical limitations. Declining health necessitated his relocation to St. Clement’s in 2015, where he embraced a ministry of prayer.
Funeral services were held earlier this week at St. Clement’s: a rosary and vigil on June 27, and a Mass of Resurrection and burial in the Redemptorist Cemetery on June 28.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.
