Rohrer, Theodore C. (Brother)

Brother Theodore (Ted) Rohrer, SJ, a member of the West Province of the Society of Jesus, died March 7, 2023, in the infirmary at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos, California. He was 80 years old and a Jesuit for 62 years.

Br. Rohrer was born into a large farm family in the community of Winton, California, on January 8, 1943, the third child and oldest son of Casper and Gertrude (Bauman) Rohrer. After graduating from Our Lady of Mercy High School in Merced, California, he entered to Jesuit novitiate at Los Gatos in 1960. Br. Rohrer’s lifelong ministry was in maintenance and groundskeeping. He was a mechanic, tractor driver, school bus driver and general fix-it man at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center (1963-1967, 1977-2013), the Jesuit Retreat Center of Los Altos (1967-1969), the Jesuit novitiate in Santa Barbara (1969-1973) and Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix (1973-1977). From 2013-2015, he was the general factotum at the Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Arizona. A period assisting the superior at the Regis Community in Spokane, Washington (2015-2018) capped his years of active ministry.

Br. Rohrer is survived by his siblings and their families: Sister Rosalie Rohrer, IHM, of Fresno, California; Margaret Carpenter, of Tucson, Arizona; Sister Marianne Rohrer, SA, of Port Chester, New York; Madalyn Robinson, of San Ramon, California; Christine Harbison, of Sacramento, California; Kathleen Kouchi, of Hilo, Hawaii; Rosemary Haskett, of Winton, California; and his brothers, Joseph, of Millbrae, California; Nicholas, of Colfax, California; John, of Merced, California; Michael, of Redmond, Oregon; and Edward, of Snelling, California.

A funeral Mass for family and close friends will be celebrated at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center on April 4, 2023, at 11:15 a.m. For the livestream, visit www.jesuitswest.org/in-memoriam. Inurnment will be immediately after Mass at 1 p.m. at Santa Clara Mission Cemetery.

Donations in memory of Br. Rohrer may be made to the Jesuits West Province of the Society of Jesus, P.O. Box 68, Los Gatos, CA 95031, or to a charity of your choosing.