IN LOVING MEMORY

The St. Jerome Parish Community shares in the grief of all St. Jerome Parishioners, and their families, who have passed away. To honor them, we seek and welcome submissions from family members to submit one to three paragraphs about the person who has passed away (or a copy of the person's obituary or funeral program), and one photograph. We would also be interested to know the individual's past involvement with the Parish, if any (though not required)? "In Loving Memory" is the project of St Jerome's Angels Ministry and other St. Jerome parishioners. Please note that this page is "under construction" as we gather more information and add images and content.

Marian Witkowski November 16, 1924 - August 20, 2021

Ted and Marian were active for many years at St. Jerome Catholic Church, where she worked as a remedial reading instructor, and later as teacher’s aide. Marian is survived by her sons John and Michael her grandchildren Emily, Amy, and Wendy and a host of nephews. Her daughter Anne died in 1985. they are together now in peace

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Dudley Sweeney Dates:

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John M. McCreary October 13, 1929 - July 11, 2021

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Thomas Lenert August 7, 1930 - June 27, 2021

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Kwame Firepong, MD, MBA September 12, 1992 - April 26, 2021

Kwame was an exceptional child, loved by all for his kind heart, and respectful nature. His was a stellar student, with an inquisitive mind and a passion for learning. Unlike many children, he knew his life was meant to heal others, and as a result, his childhood friends described Kwame as the only kid on the playground who knew he wanted to be a medical doctor. In his final year at Windward High School in 2010, he received the Paulette and Denzel Washington Award for the Family Gifted Scholars Program in Neuroscience. From there he attended Tufts University in Boston, MA, with an academic scholarship where he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Biopsychology in 2014.

When home in Los Angeles, Kwame tutored young kids at Mathnasium, and volunteered as a coach and counselor at the Kobe Bryant Basketball Academy. After Tufts, Kwame returned to Los Angeles to complete a post-baccalaureate program, and attend UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, while simultaneously attending UCLA's Anderson School of Management to obtain his M.B.A. His membership with the UCLA-PRIME-LA cohort afforded him the opportunity to obtain both degrees in a 5-year plan.

In 2017 during his first year at UCLA, Kwame wrote:

"The fragility of life is apparent when you walk the halls of the hospital and experience what might be the end of a journey for some patients. We spend our lives trying to arrive at a destination: going to work, going to school, rushing to soccer game, getting a job, getting married. We, myself included, tend to focus on the end destination and forget to appreciate the journey that it takes to arrive. When we share personal moments with those at the end of their life journey, it reminds us of remaining present and enjoying the process to any destination we wish to arrive."

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Janet Cruz Sparrow May 4, 1934 - June 5, 2021

Janet Cruz Sparrow was born on May 4, 1934 to Eulogio and Inez Cruz. Along with her beloved brother, Emilio, she was born and raised in Los Angeles and she always said she never wanted to live anywhere else. Janet loved Los Angeles and all the opportunities the city had to offer. She married Edward A. Sparrow and together they raised three beautiful children, Douglas, Jacqueline and David. She dedicated much of her life in the raising of their three children and towards a desire to learn, a desire to work very hard for what she wanted in life, and a desire to serve and mentor others.

Janet believed strongly in helping others whereby she became a busy volunteer after she retired. To name a few, she was a dedicated volunteer for Daniel Freeman Hospital for seven years until the hospital closed and is a loyal volunteer for St. Jerome Catholic Church where she has primarily served as a Lector, Eucharistic Minister and Sacristan.

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Eleanor Gilmore December 29, 1934 - February 17, 2021

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Ivan James Houston June 15, 1925 - (need date)

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Kenneth Gilbert June 19, 1932 - October 29, 2019

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Margaret Curran December 27, 1927 - July 31, 2019

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Pat Menezes March 1, 1941 - June 23, 2019

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Marie Ryan Munoz September 16, 1961 - March 11, 2019

(Image and content to be added here). Maureen Cunningham

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Maureen Cunningham Dates: ?????? - August ??, 2016

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Mildred Mae Ashley April 13 1927 - June 21, 2016

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Born Marian Catherine Knott on November 16, 1924, Marian was raised in several small towns in central California. Her family settled in Bakersfield in 1935. She attended local schools and graduated at East Bakersfield high school before attending East Bakersfield Junior College, where she graduated in 1944. She moved to Los Angeles where she met and married Ted Witkowski. From Los Angeles, they moved to Buffalo, NY 1948. Moving back to California in 1950, they settled in Los Angeles where they lived till Ted’s death in 1999.