DEATH TAKES PRIEST, 42
REV. G.J. TOBIN HAD BRAIN SURGERY
REV. GERALD J. TOBIN, CSsR, 42, of Grand Rapids, a missionary in the Amazon valley of Brazil the last 14 years, died Sunday in St. Francis Hospital, Miami Fla., after undergoing brain surgery Jan. 2.
Fr. Tobin, who was born in Grand Rapids, had vacationed here five months last year. He suffered a burst blood vessel in the head in Brazil and was brought to the hospital Dec. 30 for treatment.
ATTENDED ST. ALPHONSUS
He attended St. Alphonsus School here and seminaries in Kirkwood, Mo., and Oconomowoc, Wis.
Surviving are his mother, MRS. ROSE E. TOBIN of Grand Rapids; four brothers, JOSEPH TOBIN of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; EDWARD J. TOBIN of Grand Rapids, REV. FRANCIS TOBIN of Fresno, Calif., and REV. BERNARD TOBIN of San Leandro, Calif., and four sisters, MRS. EUGENE SKAZINSKI, of Grand Rapids, SISTER M. EILEEN, RSM, of Howell, SISTER M. LORRAINE, RSM, of Ann Arbor, and SISTER ROSE ANNA, MM, of Guatemala.
The body will be brought to the Alt Mortuary here.
THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS, Grand Rapids, Mich., Jan. 1965
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LAST SEVEN HAVE BEEN SPENT IN BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
'PADRE RAFAEL' HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
This will be "Padre Rafael's" first Christmas in 21 years to be spent at home.
Other Christmases for this 35-year-old priest have been spent in seminaries and in the Brazilian jungles.
He is better known at home as "JERRY" or to others as Rev. FR. GERALD J. TOBIN. Fr. TOBIN is a Roman Catholic Redemptorist missionary in Manaus, Brazil, presently on furlough at the home of his mother, MRS. JOSEPH G. TOBIN, 13 National NW until his return next March.
"Brazil has two facets," he said, "heat and jungle. The lowest temperature measured while I was there was 72 degrees just before sunrise."
The Amazon River is the thing that amazed him most in his seven years spent there. "During the rainy season-- from November to March--the river rises on the average of 43 to 47 feet. It was measured one year at 53 feet above normal."
Strange things happen in the unknown jungle. Huge snakes--anacondas--have been known to carry adult human beings off into the river.
Fr. Tobin saw scar marks on the leg of a man who escaped the deadly coils of an anaconda.
"You could see the marks where the teeth from the upper jaw scraped from the middle of the thigh down to the knee. On the man's foot were scars from the teeth in the lower jaw where they caught in the ankle."
The man told Fr. Tobin that friends killed the snake before it could kill and swallow him.
Fr. Tobin's job, however, deals mostly with people. "The illiteracy rate in our area is fantastic," he said. "One of my projects while I am on leave is to try and raise money for a small school in my parish."
The cost for a small school in Brazil isn't nearly the cost of one in this country. "I think about $2,000 would set us up nicely," he said.
"What we try to do is to teach and train the younger person so they will in turn go back to their villages and teach others," he said.
There are relatively few settlements to speak of in the Amazon valley. Most of it is swamp with islands of arable land. "The Brazilians gather Brazil nuts, rubber and jute to sell to traders who ply their boats up and down the river," he said.
"The country isn't very rich, although there are ay possibilities with things like minerals, oil and wood products. The big problem is really transportation of the products out of the interior."
The jungle has taken its toil of Padre Rafael. His hair is richly sprinkled with gray.
"I get tired of the jungle and the heat," he said, "but I know before my furlough is up that I'll be aching to get back to work."
THE GRAND RAPIDS HERALD, Grand Rapids, Mich., Dec. 1957
DEATH TAKES PRIEST, 42
REV. G.J. TOBIN HAD BRAIN SURGERY
REV. GERALD J. TOBIN, CSsR, 42, of Grand Rapids, a missionary in the Amazon valley of Brazil the last 14 years, died Sunday in St. Francis Hospital, Miami Fla., after undergoing brain surgery Jan. 2.
Fr. Tobin, who was born in Grand Rapids, had vacationed here five months last year. He suffered a burst blood vessel in the head in Brazil and was brought to the hospital Dec. 30 for treatment.
ATTENDED ST. ALPHONSUS
He attended St. Alphonsus School here and seminaries in Kirkwood, Mo., and Oconomowoc, Wis.
Surviving are his mother, MRS. ROSE E. TOBIN of Grand Rapids; four brothers, JOSEPH TOBIN of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; EDWARD J. TOBIN of Grand Rapids, REV. FRANCIS TOBIN of Fresno, Calif., and REV. BERNARD TOBIN of San Leandro, Calif., and four sisters, MRS. EUGENE SKAZINSKI, of Grand Rapids, SISTER M. EILEEN, RSM, of Howell, SISTER M. LORRAINE, RSM, of Ann Arbor, and SISTER ROSE ANNA, MM, of Guatemala.
The body will be brought to the Alt Mortuary here.
THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS, Grand Rapids, Mich., Jan. 1965
************************~ooOoo~************************
LAST SEVEN HAVE BEEN SPENT IN BRAZILIAN JUNGLE
'PADRE RAFAEL' HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
This will be "Padre Rafael's" first Christmas in 21 years to be spent at home.
Other Christmases for this 35-year-old priest have been spent in seminaries and in the Brazilian jungles.
He is better known at home as "JERRY" or to others as Rev. FR. GERALD J. TOBIN. Fr. TOBIN is a Roman Catholic Redemptorist missionary in Manaus, Brazil, presently on furlough at the home of his mother, MRS. JOSEPH G. TOBIN, 13 National NW until his return next March.
"Brazil has two facets," he said, "heat and jungle. The lowest temperature measured while I was there was 72 degrees just before sunrise."
The Amazon River is the thing that amazed him most in his seven years spent there. "During the rainy season-- from November to March--the river rises on the average of 43 to 47 feet. It was measured one year at 53 feet above normal."
Strange things happen in the unknown jungle. Huge snakes--anacondas--have been known to carry adult human beings off into the river.
Fr. Tobin saw scar marks on the leg of a man who escaped the deadly coils of an anaconda.
"You could see the marks where the teeth from the upper jaw scraped from the middle of the thigh down to the knee. On the man's foot were scars from the teeth in the lower jaw where they caught in the ankle."
The man told Fr. Tobin that friends killed the snake before it could kill and swallow him.
Fr. Tobin's job, however, deals mostly with people. "The illiteracy rate in our area is fantastic," he said. "One of my projects while I am on leave is to try and raise money for a small school in my parish."
The cost for a small school in Brazil isn't nearly the cost of one in this country. "I think about $2,000 would set us up nicely," he said.
"What we try to do is to teach and train the younger person so they will in turn go back to their villages and teach others," he said.
There are relatively few settlements to speak of in the Amazon valley. Most of it is swamp with islands of arable land. "The Brazilians gather Brazil nuts, rubber and jute to sell to traders who ply their boats up and down the river," he said.
"The country isn't very rich, although there are ay possibilities with things like minerals, oil and wood products. The big problem is really transportation of the products out of the interior."
The jungle has taken its toil of Padre Rafael. His hair is richly sprinkled with gray.
"I get tired of the jungle and the heat," he said, "but I know before my furlough is up that I'll be aching to get back to work."
THE GRAND RAPIDS HERALD, Grand Rapids, Mich., Dec. 1957
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